Source: WRC
Source: WRC
Source: WRC
Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Kimi Räikkönen, in his fourth rally with the Citroen Junior Team, during last weekend in Turkey, made his first top 5. A beautiful performance for the F1 World Champion 2007, pleased to see his progress race after race. "I'm getting better everywhere," he acknowledges to AUTOhebdo this week. "You know very well what are the steps! Everything happens at once. Little by little, everything seems both better and easier. "
1. Kimi Räikkönen, does rally taste like men's business after three WRC-rallies?
There is no reason to jump in the air with joy, but, obviously, this is the best feeling I have had since starting my new career in WRC. We got a nice ten points from the Turkish weekend. The whole team was very happy with the job we managed to do.
Source: YouTube
Kimi Räikkönen has taken ten WC-points when winning a F1-grand prix. From Turkey Rally Kimi also took ten WC-points when bringing his Citroen C4 WRC-car 5th to the finish."No, I've no idea how I'm getting back. But I did finish fifth in Turkey. Next?"
More than 500 people from the different world rally teams have been left stranded in Turkey - and Kimi and Kaj are two of them. Kimi's solution will probably consist of flying to somewhere in Italy and then embarking on a long car journey back to his home in Switzerland.
Kimi's Citroen Junior Team will head back to their base in Paris on a fleet of buses, while other people are looking at solutions involving boats and trains. Ironically, the rally's base in Istanbul was the traditional terminus of the Orient Express, the luxury train service that used to link France's capital with Turkey.
The world of rallying may not always be glamorous, but Kimi is thoroughly enjoying it after a fault-free Rally of Turkey in which he showed that he is a quick learner. On only his ninth-ever rally, the Iceman beat several drivers with far more experience and set stage times that were never out of the top 10 - and often in the top six.
"I'm really pleased with the way it's gone," said Kimi. "There was nothing particularly special; we just paid good attention to the pace notes and made sure that we made no mistakes. The stages were really tough, particularly on the last day when it was very muddy: it felt like driving on ice. I'm learning all the time and that's a really nice feeling: a bit like my early days of circuit racing. I'm very happy, although I have no idea exactly how we are getting home tonight. It really doesn't matter; I'm sure we'll find a way..."
Kaj Lindstrom was also reminded of his earlier days in rallying. "It's been really nice to be involved in a new project from the very beginning, and to help a driver develop in rallying," he said. "The fact that it is with Kimi and Red Bull just makes it all the more special for me. I have to say that he has been really impressive on this event: you would never guess that he has so little experience in a rally car. I know that we can build on this progress now."
The next event for Kimi and Kaj in the Red Bull Citroen will be the Rally of Portugal from May 28-30, but before then they are hoping to do some testing in order to increase their experience.
Source: Rally Buzz
Kimi Räikkönen, who raced in the Rally of Turkey during the weekend, is planning to return to his Swiss home with a private plane possibly already today.
Source: WRC
Kimi Räikkönen is firmly attached to the sixth position of the Rally of Turkey. Federico Villagra, who is driving in seventh position, is 32 seconds away and Sebastien Ogier is ahead by well over a minute.