Rally Mexico: Citroën Junior Team Review Day 1

KIMI GETS DOWN TO SOME ROCK AND ROLL ON RALLY MEXICO

Remember Speedy Gonzales? He was well-known as "the fastest mouse in all of Mexico". Shouting "Andale, andale, arriba, arriba!" from underneath his trademark sombrero, he managed to outwit all of his rivals (usually cats) through speed, cunning and judicious use of chilli sauce.

Red Bull driver Kimi Raikkonen also showed plenty of speed and cunning throughout the opening day of the Rally Mexico, setting an eighth, a seventh, and a fifth fastest time today: his highest-ever overall stage result in his short World Rally Championship career. For a long time, it was looking very good.

It went wrong on the final proper stage of the day though, when the Red Bull driver rolled into retirement virtually within sight of the finish line. After making great progress throughout the day, Kimi learned a tough lesson from the school of hard knocks. With his Citroen C4 too badly damaged to continue, Kimi's Rally Mexico is over.

Kimi Raikkonen had a frustrating day. The Finn's Citroen C4 WRC initially hit a rock on SS1. "The steering arm was bent, but we were able to repair it before the start of the next stage," said the `Iceman'. "On the following stage, we then had to stop after three kilometres. It took us a while to find out the cause of the problem. It was simply a connector that had become undone."

Despite steering that was still not entirely straight, Kimi managed to set some good times on the following two stages. In SS7, his rally came to an end though when he was caught out just before the finish of the stage. "The car just slid into the side of the road as we were going into a corner," he said. "We rolled, but myself and Kaj are both fine."

Citroen Junior Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: "Kimi lost time this morning with a technical problem that was not at all his fault. Afterwards, he set some impressive times. He decided to up the pace on SS7, a stage where he felt comfortable. Unfortunately, he went off shortly before the stage finish and he won't be able to start again under the Super Rallye rules tomorrow as the car is too badly damaged. Sebastien and Julien confirmed again today that they were able to mix it with the best drivers in the world. Thanks to their speed and their road position, they are in a well-deserved second place. We're very pleased with our work today, which saw cars from Citroen Racing Technologies set every fastest stage time, thanks to Petter Solberg and Sebastien Ogier. This is an important first for us!"

Source: Motorsport

The distance by Räikkönen

Kimi Räikkönen, who participates this weekend on his 1st WRC Rally, doesn't have a reputation of a sociable and joyful young man. In a delightful article published Saturday, L'Equipe writes about the Finn's behaviour towards his teammates... and the journalists.


In sporting terms, Kimi Räikkönen (Citroën Junior Team), was quite pestered on Friday. First, on SS1, Khalid Al-Qassimi, who had started before him and been stalled in a snowbank, came back right in front of him, which slowed him down. Infuriating! But not as much as his misfortune on SS6, when was stuck in a snowbank himself. That costed him 26 minutes as he had to clear the car with a shovel himself! Nothing else for Kimi to do but to struggle as much with the press. "I got muscles!" he laughed with his engineer. To gather feedback from the crew, the journalists had to rely on his co-driver Kaj Lindström, a lot more talkative. An example? On Friday, while the WRC drivers answered questions in the media area, Kimi waited in his car, leaving only for a moment to grab his jacket in the trunk before returning to the wheel. So much for journalists.

Sordo: "He introduced me to his buddies, he's really nice"

On the other hand, the Citroën clan stands up for him. "With us, he's more comunicative. He's not really much of a talker, but he is quite open," assured his engineer Cédric Mazenq, soon joined by Citroën Junior Team manager, Benoît Nogier. "I wouldn't say he's joyful, but he's far from being as cold as his image suggests." His teammate Sébastien Ogier exchanges information with the ex-F1 star. "He talks a lot to me," said Dani Sordo (Citroën C4). "We did the Arctic Rally in Finland together and he introduced me to his buddies and invited me to his home. He's really nice." Eventually, the 'Iceman' decided to give his only interview on Friday. He was short and factual: "It's hard to compete with the guys who do this for a long time, but I'm generally satisfied. Even if there's a lot of progress to make."

Source: L'Equipe
Courtesy of Ramses1348, Boudica @PF1
Translation/adaptation from French: Fran