Citroën Racing enters the third dimension!

The entry of the DS3 WRC in the 2011 World Rally Championship will open a new chapter in the history of the French make. The Citroën Total World Rally Team's aim is win its seventh Manufacturer's World Title, and to achieve this it has entered two crews: Sébastien Loeb-Daniel Elena, gunning for their eighth drivers' world title on the trot, and Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia who have been promoted to the works outfit full time after scoring two victories in 2010.

Three more Citroën DS3 WRCs will be driven by privateers: Petter Solberg, Kimi Räikkönen and Peter van Merksteijn. Citroën Racing, which has been involved in top-level world rallying for ten years, is about to give its third World Rally car its debut. After the Xsara and the C4, which racked up three world titles each, the DS3 WRC will make its bow on the world stage in the Swedish Rally (10-13 February). The team directed by Olivier Quesnel has fixed itself an aim as simple as it is ambitious for this key season that represents a turning point in the make's history - retain its Manufacturers' and Drivers' titles!

The Citroën DS3 WRC is a stunning synthesis of Creative Technology that complies with the new regulations drawn up by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The most visible change is its size. The DS3 WRC is more compact than the C4, which gives it much more spectacular behaviour. The revolution continues under the bonnet as the car is powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged direct injection 4-cylinder engine designed in-house by Citroën Racing. It is coupled to 4-wheel drive transmission with a manually controlled sequential gearbox and with a constant power sharing system between the front and rear axles.

The Citroën DS3 WRC was unveiled at last year's Paris Motor Show, and it has since undergone multiple test sessions to be ready for a season consisting of thirteen rallies, each one with its own specific characteristics, stretched over a 9-month period. From the polar chill of Sweden to the heat of the Jordanian desert, the World Rally Championship is a huge challenge for men and machines. The technical team managed by Xavier Mestelan-Pinon has reproduced the most extreme conditions during the sessions aimed at testing the reliability of the car and developing its performance.

The Citroën Total World Rally Team that represents the official colours of the make has entered two DS3 WRCs for crews that come from its own nursery, which today consists of the 'Citroën Racing Trophies' organized all over Europe.

Total continues its long-standing partnership with Citroën as title sponsor of the works team. The DS3 WRCs will also carry the famous Red Bull colours as the company pursues an involvement that began in 2008. Three brands will be back among Citroën's partners, Michelin which will supply tyres for the DS3 WRCs, as well as Facom and Alcon.

Three more DS3 WRCs run by Citroën Racing Technologies will be entered for private crews in 2011. Petter Solberg-Chris Patterson will start all thirteen rounds, Kimi Räikkönen-Kaj Lindström will take part in ten rallies while Peter van Merksteijn-Eddy Chevaillier will begin their season at the Portuguese Rally."

Source: kimiraikkonen.com
Courtesy: Acropolis

Räikkönen gets a Citroen for 10 WRC-rallies

Kimi Räikkönen's contract that has been fine-tuned for a long time with Citroen's brand new DS3 WRC-car in WRC was finally ready to be published on Monday.

– We can confirm that Kimi has agreed upon 10 WRC-rallies with Citroen. Kimi decided that he wants to continue in rally and he wanted to continue in the best car. Although the WRC-cars will change Citroen still seems to be in the best positions, Räikkönen's manager Steve Robertson told Turun Sanomat.

Kaj Lindström will continue as Räikkönen's co-driver. Mark Arnall will still take care of his fitness.

– Of course Kimi's learning in rally continues this year also but it's not as difficult as it was the first season. The car is now different for everybody and it gives a little leverage in addition to the experience Kimi has gained when compared to the top lead. Of course the difference to Sebastien Loeb and other experienced drivers is undisputable, Robertson thinks.

Peter van Merksteijn junior has also made a 10 rally deal with Citroen like Räikkönen but the French team will only get 3 new cars to Sweden.

This year the junior-team's car is completely identical with the factory team because the machinery is completely renewed.

Why does Räikkönen have a contract with 10 instead of 13 rallies?

– Because Kimi's rallying experience is so small it can be better to drive additional tests with the new car while the others race in the long distance races, Robertson justified - but he left the possibility that Räikkönen would in the end drive the whole serie.

Turun Sanomat

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Petrov: Why choose Kimi over me?

Vitaly Petrov can't quite see a reason why Renault would want to replace him with Kimi Raikkonen, after all, he costs a lot less than the Finn

Räikkönen could return to Formula One next season with Renault, having enquired about the team's second race-seat alongside Robert Kubica.

However, already the team has stated that finances will play a role in deciding whether the former World Champ is worth the massive salary they would have to pay him.

And that, Petrov says, is his trump card.

"Why would Renault choose Kimi rather than me?" Petrov asked Formule1.nl.

"The team knew when they started with me that I'm a rookie, I am still learning the ropes.

"The team is negotiating with several drivers, that's how it works in Formula 1. I feel that they are satisfied with me, though."

He added: "An advantage in my case; compared to Kimi they do not have to pay me that much."

Source: Planet-F1

Rallye Deutschland 2010: Overnight leader Loeb vows tokeep pushing

Sebastien Loeb will take a 9.5-second lead into day two of Rallye Deutschland although the reigning world champion admits the gap might not be enough to keep Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo at bay

The Spaniard has been a consistent threat to Loeb through Friday’s six stages and went faster than the Frenchman on the final stage of the day, the repeat of the 19.92-kilometre Moselland test.

“It’s been a good day for sure but it’s not been easy and I have been really pushing because first Petter was fast and then it was Dani,” said Loeb. “I have to continue this way tomorrow if I am to win.”

Sordo, back in the main Citroen team after contesting Rally Finland with the company’s Junior squad, said he had been full of confidence throughout the day. “My times have been consistent and it’s nice to be close to Sebastien,” said Sordo. “But the most important thing is to take as many points as possible for the manufacturers’ championship.”

Jari-Matti Latvala is the leading works Ford driver in third overall and was satisfied with the progress made since the last asphalt round in Bulgaria back in early July.

“I’ve made progress since Bulgaria and that is important,” said the Rally Finland winner. “I’ve not made any major errors but the small ones have cost some time.”

With the anti-stall problem that slowed him this morning resolved, Sebastien Ogier was able to climb ahead of Mikko Hirvonen for fourth after going faster than the Finn on stage five. Ogier said he was satisfied with his performance but Hirvonen admitted that he needs to find more speed on day two in the second factory Ford.

Francois Duval completes the top six on his return to the WRC for the first time since 2008. The Belgian could have been higher up the leaderboard but for a broken front-right driveshaft five kilometres from the finish of stage two, which left his Focus on rear-wheel drive only.

“It’s good that this is a long rally as it can hopefully allow me to catch up on the others after a bad start,” said Duval, who lost almost a minute on Friday morning.

Matthew Wilson is seventh, 4.7s behind Duval, after overcoming understeer and brake problems earlier in the day.

Ex-Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen is eighth in his Citroen Junior Team C4 with Petter Solberg ninth after a fraught day. The Norwegian suffered a deflated tyre on the opening stage and in his efforts to make up the lost time he carried too much speed into a left-hander on stage six and broke his right-rear wheel rim against a kerb, which prompted a second wheel change.

“It’s been an up and down day,” said Solberg. “The car has been very good and we showed our speed by going fastest on stage five. Unfortunately we overshot a junction on stage five and then had the problem with the wheel on stage six.”

Ken Block completes the top 10 in his Monster World Rally Team Focus on only his third asphalt rally and his first at world championship level.

Overall:
1. 1 S. LOEB M 1:18:52.5 0.0 0.0
2. 2 D. SORDO M 1:19:02.0 +9.5 +9.5
3. 4 J. LATVALA M 1:19:57.2 +55.2 +1:04.7
4. 7 S. OGIER M 1:20:03.4 +6.2 +1:10.9
5. 3 M. HIRVONEN M 1:20:07.0 +3.6 +1:14.5
6. 6 F. DUVAL M 1:22:02.9 +1:55.9 +3:10.4
7. 5 M. WILSON M 1:22:07.6 +4.7 +3:15.1
8. 8 K. RÄIKKÖNEN M 1:22:15.3 +7.7 +3:22.8
9. 11 P. SOLBERG 1:23:40.2 +1:24.9 +4:47.7
10. 43 K. BLOCK 1:24:34.8 +54.6 +5:42.3

Source: WRC

Citroëns dominate Rally Deutschland Shakedown

Citroen’s bid for an eighth victory on Rally Deutschland got off to a strong start earlier today when C4 World Rally Cars locked out the top four times at the pre-event shakedown

The four hour test - a prelude to this weekend's rally - took place on a 5.80km asphalt road near the villages of Mesenich and Grewenich, 16km west of the Service Park in Trier. Conditions were dry and sunny throughout, with the temperature peaking at 23 degrees Celsius.

Citroen works team driver Dani Sordo shared the joint fastest time with privateer entrant Petter Solberg. Sordo, competing alongside new co-driver Diego Vallejo for the first time, completed four passes through the stage, setting his best time of 3m 39.4s on his final run.

“It felt good,” said Sordo. “Of course it’s a big change having Diego alongside me but we’ve tested for three days [in the rally car] and since then we have been driving together in a road car in Spain. It’s not the same as proper competition but this morning everything is okay. The aim for the rally is to try and get a podium. But running sixth on the road isn’t an ideal position to be in because there will be a lot of dirt on the road. If the weather stays dry that will help.”

Solberg, who started a new co-driving partnership with Chris Patterson six weeks ago, matched Sordo’s time on his fourth run. The Norwegian drove the stage five times after hitting a snag on his first pass. “The handbrake didn’t release after a hairpin and we were stationary for about 15 seconds,” he explained. “Luckily it happened today and we were able to fix it. After that we tried a few different settings, confirming what we found at our pre-event test. In the end the car feels absolutely perfect and we matched Sordo’s time. I’m happy with that.”

Seven-time Rally Deutschland winner Sebastien Loeb was the closest to Sordo and Solberg, in a time 1.3sec adrift. “The test has been okay for me, no problems,” he said. The road was fast and narrow, so always difficult, but the feeling was good and the car is perfect for the moment. We made a little change to the suspension but nothing special.”

Citroen Junior Team driver Kimi Raikkonen set the fourth fastest time, 1.9sec slower than Loeb, while Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen rounded off the top five as the first Focus RS WRC pilot.

ADAC Rally Deutschland gets underway on Friday 19 August at 0900hrs when crews leave the Service Park bound for the opening Ruwertal / Fell stage.

Here are the Shakedown times of the leading WRC drivers:

1. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:39.4

=1. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:39.4

3. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:40.7

4. RÄIKKÖNEN. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:42.6

5. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 3:42.7

6. DUVAL. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:42.8

7. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 3:43.3

8. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 3:44.4

9. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:48.3

10. Al QASSIMI. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:51.4

11. BLOCK. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 3:52.2

Source: WRC

Petter fastest in Rally Bulgaria Shakedown

Citroen privateer Petter Solberg got his partnership with new co-driver Chris Patterson off to a perfect start earlier today by setting the fastest time at the pre-event shakedown for Rally Bulgaria.

The four hour test - a prelude to this weekend's rally - took place on a 2.65km asphalt road from Momin Prohod to Gorna Vassiitsa Village, 9km from the main Service Park in Dolna Banya. After overnight rain, conditions were dry and cloudy throughout, with a temperature peaking at 12 degrees Celsius.

"Not bad, eh?" said Petter after completing his sixth and final run in a session-winning time of 1m 39.4s. "The car felt good and I'm feeling confident about the partnership inside the car too. The shakedown road wasn't exactly like the roads we saw on the recce - it's a bit more slippery - but the car set-up worked well."

Fellow Citroen C4 WRC driver Dani Sordo was closest to Solberg's time, stopping the clock four-tenths slower, while Citroen Junior team driver Sebastien Ogier, also in a C4, rounded off the top three times with a 1m 39.9s.

Former Formula One champion and WRC newcomer Kimi Raikkonen underlined his skill on asphalt by sharing the fourth fastest time - 1m 40.5s - with six times World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.

"He's more comfortable on the tarmac, that's for sure," commented Raikkonen's co-driver Kaj Lindstrom. "There was a delay at the start before our first run, so we lost all the heat from the tyres, but things got better from there. He went well at our pre-event test and we've done a good time here. I'm excited about this rally..."

"He is certainly very fast on tarmac," acknowledged Loeb. "I think the most difficult part for him will be to be fast on the first loop - with only two passes on the recce. But his first pass today was okay, so we'll see tomorrow. It's certainly going to be interesting. Asked whether he thought the Finn could be a serious threat this weekend, Loeb said: 'I hope not."

Rally Bulgaria gets underway on Friday (9 July) at 0900hrs when crews leave the Service Park for four all-asphalt stages in the Rila mountains.

Here are the Shakedown times of the leading WRC drivers:

1. P. SOLBERG. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:39.4
2. SORDO. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:39.8
3. OGIER. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:39.9
=4. LOEB. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:40.5
=4. RAIKKONEN. Citroen C4 WRC. 1:40.5
6. HIRVONEN. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 1:41.3
7. LATVALA. Ford Focus RS WRC 09. 1:42.2
=8. P-G ANDERSSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:42.6
=8. WILSON. Ford Focus RS WRC 08. 1:42.6

Source: WRC

THE MEETING OF ALL DREAMS IN FINLAND: RÄIKKÖNEN VS VETTEL

They are putting up a duel between Kimi and Sebastian Vettel in Finland.

It would take place in Helsinki Motorsport Weekend during 7.-8. August. Neither one of them has given an official confirmation yet but Vettel has already given his personal 'yes', therefore it's only up to Red Bull's permission. The organizers believe strongly that Räikkönen will also participate. What makes it easier to happen is that Red Bull is the sponsor for the event and also the employer of both stars.

Räikkönen's co-driver Kaj Lindström has already promised that he is in the competition for co-drivers so it's a sure sign that neither one of them is doing any rally work that weekend.

In the competition star drivers from different genres compete against each other with the similar vehicle, meaning Legends-cars, Bullspeed Cross Karts and KTM X-Bows. Two drivers will drive at the same time on the track that has been built in Helsinki's Fish harbor. If they get both Räikkönen and Vettel, they will put them both to drive at the same time against each other á la Race of Champions.

From former F1-drivers Mika Salo has already promised to participate. Jacques Villeneuve is probably coming too.

Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole

The Junior Team is continuing its preparation

Big week for Citroen leading two tests simultaneously: one with the official team and one with the junior team. In the Tarn as the team continued its preparation for asphalt rally after his participation in Lanterna in Italy.

The special provision by the organization, always effective, allowed the junior team to prepare Bulgaria with road conditions near the site of the next round of the championship. Ogier and Raikkonen have used the C4, all blue, rented by PH Re Felice at the Lanterna .

Sebastien Ogier took the wheel Tuesday and Wednesday. Weather conditions were wet, the pilot tested the Gap boundary starting at the top to tail. Yesterday and today, Raikkonen took place aboard the C4.

The Finnish company has aligned with the times a very aggressive style. Always on the attack, he was able to enjoy warm weather to make better lap qu'Ogier on the same stage.

Often the limit, Kimi seems more comfortable on this surface after good result Lanterna . While it raises the question about the future of Raikkonen: WRC again or return to F1 ? It was noted that the Finnish seemed interested in the new deal for WRC 2011 ...

Source: WRC.is.free.fr
Courtesy: julia

Rumours link Webber with Ferrari switch

At least three media sources are claiming Mark Webber is a contender to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari next year.

Britain's The Sun, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo, and British journalist James Allen all reported the rumour from the scene of this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

It is already rumoured that Robert Kubica is another contender to replace struggling Brazilian Massa, whose current teammate Fernando Alonso is under long-term contract.

The Sun also said Webber, 33, could retire if he is not retained by Red Bull in 2011 and is unable to find another top drive.

Kimi Raikkonen has been linked with Webber's seat at the energy drink-owned team, and the newspaper said "the pieces of the puzzle" could be in place by July.

El Mundo, meanwhile, raised the possibility that Massa could simply swap seats with Webber and race alongside Sebastian Vettel next year.

Source: Motorsport

WRC Rally of Turkey 2010: Ukraine First Automotive TV channel

Source: YouTube

ONE STEP MORE READY

Text by Marko Mäkinen

8th position and four championship-points. No other Finnish sportsman has ever been able to score championship-points in both F1 and WRC. Kimi Räikkönen has - and there's more to come.

Despite all the unrealistic expectations the media has created Kimi Räikkönen has been able to get through all three WRC-rallies almost excellently. He has now his first championship-points in the pocket although Räikkönen himself expected to score points in the autumn at earliest.

He has made mistakes and that hasn't surprised anyone, not even Kimi himself. Rally is a brutal sport where you don't get back on the road after a driving mistake. Whereas in F1 you can make an error with the driving line which will take you over the borders or at the most to the safety-area in rally again a similar judgement error creates a six-volt rolling roulette which can end the whole race like Kimi got to experience in Mexico.

Long working days came as a surprise

Of course Räikkönen was able to prepare himself beforehand for almost everything but one thing surprised even him: when it comes to time the WRC is like the Army for Officers and the F1 again the Civil Alternative Service. In rally you sleep and eat when you have time, the alarm clock goes off at 5 a.m. after which you sit in the race car for five days until the sun goes down (recce included). It's those long racing days that brought back the backpains from a couple of old F1-races that you cannot treat in anyway in rally.

Also the change of the daily routine hindered the F1-star's concentration. Kimi was used to taking refreshing naps on the F1-paddock but in rally you cannot do the same. When a 10 year old routine suddenly changes like this it cannot help but affect the vigor.

Kimi is not a quitter

With Räikkönen's performance and development it isn't a question of speed or lack of talent, it's about enhancing these into a complete ability to perform in the most efficient possible way.

Yet Kimi hasn't even once regretted his decision to switch over to rally. You can see from everything that rally is exactly what he wants to do at the moment. If Räikkönen would have a quitter's nature or if he would be satisfied with the first good feeling then he surely would have stepped right in the helicopter in Rally Sweden when he drove in the snowbank but instead he started shoveling with a small plastic shovel to get his car out of the bank and continued his race after working for half an hour.

Kimi's main goal this season has been to finish rallies and drive as fast as possible. Other quarters have set harder result goals but Räikkönen has wisely stated that 'if you can't finish the rally then it's useless to put any other goals for yourself'.

In Jordan Räikkönen dropped his pace to a safety-level so that he could finish the rally. It was a professional man's humble performance to drive for the end result and it brought good starting points to lift up his own pace in the next rallies so that it's more closer to the topdrivers.

KIMI DRIVES WITH LOEB'S SETUPS

Kimi Räikkönen made his WRC-career's first big decision during Rally Sweden's first service break when he changed his setups so that they matched Sébastien Loeb's. With this decision Kimi wanted to concentrate more on driving from the notes and put the car's setup-matters at the side.

Loeb's suspension- and power transmission -setups don't naturally go along with Räikkönen's driving style but he humbly decided to learn a new driving style. Period.

The learning still goes on. Räikkönen made the only exception for Jordan's first stage where his starting position was 10th. They expected the road to be cleaned of rocks and sand before Kimi's turn came, that's why Citroen's suspension was changed into a remarkably harder one than the others had. This decision turned out to be completely wrong: The road's surface was even more slippery than it was for the first cars so it wasn't any wonder that Kimi said after the stages that it was his motorsporting career's most difficult and challenging race.

After the trial Räikkönen went back to Loeb's suspension estimations and he will trust them in the future too.

Source: Vauhdin Maailma
Courtesy: Nicole

Co-driver praised Räikkönen's skills

For Kimi Räikkönen fifth place in Turkey WRC-rally was a fantastic result. Räikkönen was behind Citroen's French-star Sebastien Loeb, who was the winner of the rally, by approximately 7 minutes. Co-driver Kaj Lindström praised Räikkönen's performance.

- A great performance from Kimi. Of course there can always be improvement but this result gives energy for Kimi for the coming challenges, Lindström said.

According to Lindström one could see in Turkey how close Kimi drives to the top drivers when everyone are forced to drive in roads they don't know beforehand. In most of the WRC-rallies Räikkönen has to learn stages while the more experienced drivers know the routes better.

- Turkey was a new race for everyone. Now we know where we are going. In the future we aim to narrow off the difference to the top. Bulgary might be the next good place for comparison because there the roads are new for everyone, Lindström pondered.

Lindström reminded that through experience rally-driver's driving rhythm improves. At the same time the driver learns to pay more accurately attention to the notes from the co-driver and the pace accelerates even more.

- Polishing the notes to the stage that you trust them 110 procent comes through experience.

According to Lindström, Kimi is dedicated to rally with certainty only for this year.

- I won't by any means decline cooperation if Kimi wants to continue in rally after this season too. But it is too early to think about that, we have not talked about this issue even with each other yet, Lindström said.

Source: YLE.Fi
Courtesy: Leijona

Räikkönen will miss Rally New Zealand

Kimi Räikkönen drove a steady race with patience in Rally Turkey which brought him a fifth place finish. It's the best achievement in Räikkönen's short rally career.

The car stalled a couple of times but the Citroen junior team driver avoided big problems on roads that were fast and at times slippery and in bad shape.

The finishing position was also made better by Dani Sordo driving off the road and Jari-Matti Latvala's problems.

-Driving to into the top five in a WRC rally with that rally experience is a great achievement from Kimi. I don't think that you can find other performances like that, said Latvala.

Räikkönen was also pleased.

-The last stretch was really difficult. Some places were as slippery as ice. I drove safely so that I wouldn't make a mistake in the end of such a good race, thought Räikkönen.

-Now I'm starting to get the feel for the car and for driving to pace notes.

Räikkönen is now facing a short brake in racing. He'll be back in the WRC series only at the end of May in Rally Portugal. He'll miss Rally New Zealand which is driven in the beginning of May.

-But I'm supposed to be driving tests in between, told Räikkönen.

Source: MTV3 - Courtesy: Dracaena

Rally of Turkey 2010: SS9 SSS Istanbul

Times:

1.S. LOEB 1:55.9
2.S. OGIER 1:56.3 +0.4
3.P. SOLBERG 1:56.5 +0.2
4.J. LATVALA 1:57.7 +1.2
5.K. RAIKKONEN 1:58.9 +1.2
6.D. SORDO 1:59.0 +0.1
7.M. HIRVONEN 1:59.3 +0.3
8.M. WILSON 2:03.3 +4.0
9.F. VILLAGRA 2:05.4+2.1
10.K. ABBRING 2:06.1 +0.7

Source: WRC - YouTube

Räikkönen will savour Turkey stages, says co-driver

Kimi Raikkonen’s co-driver, Kaj Lindstrom, believes the high-speed and wide nature of the Rally of Turkey stages will suit the ex-Formula One world champion.

Raikkonen is seeking his second-consecutive points finish on the Istanbul event after landing his maiden top 10 finish on the Jordan Rally earlier this month in his Citroen Junior Team Citroen C4 World Rally Car.

Lindstrom, who is contesting his eighth rally alongside fellow Finn Raikkonen, said: "I don't really know what we can expect, but the information I have suggests that the stages are quite fast and wide, and I think this should suit Kimi well. The only concern that we have is the risk of rain: it's the same for everyone, but if it does rain then the surfaces are sure to become extremely slippery, which will not be so nice."

Raikkonen, who will partner rising star Sebastien Ogier in the Citroen Junior Team, conceded he was facing another big challenge on the gravel event, round four of the World Rally Championship. “I suppose it's good that I like challenges, because this is going to be another big one for me," he said.

"I actually thought that Jordan was the most difficult rally we have seen so far, but I don't really have any idea what this one is going to be like. In Jordan we were able to find a safe pace, which might not have been the most exciting thing in the world, but at least it meant that we finished the rally and were able to score points. In Turkey, we're just going to have to see what sort of feeling we have with the stages and decide what is possible then. The priority is to finish, particularly because it's a completely new event and you have to get to know the stages. But of course I'm a competitive person so I always want to do the best that I can," he added.

Raikkonen has received advice from his countryman Anton Alen, the son of former WRC legend Markku, ahead of Rally of Turkey. Alen came close to winning the FIAT Rally, which used a similar route to Turkey’s new WRC qualifier, back in 2007.

Source: WRC

THERE'S AT LEAST TWO CANDIDATES TAKING WEBBER'S SEAT

HEIKKI KULTA - Turun Sanomat 12.4 2010

Speculations about next season's drivers are going on strong in Red Bull's camp. There aren't many experts who believe that Mark Webber would drive as Sebastian Vettel's team mate in 2011.

The Australian is the world's best 2nd driver but the bosses of the racing team, Dietrich Mateschitz and Helmut Marko, are for recycling.

In the Australian The Age-magazine Webber's girlfriend and manager Ann Neal gives out the impression that Webber might withdraw from F1 when he is on the top.

– I don't think that Mark wants to just drag along year after year. Because it took him so long to get into F1 I doubt he wants to go through the same long process when withdrawing. Mark wants to retire when he is in a good position, Neil said.

Webber's plans after retirement is to climb Mount Everest and start managering young drivers.

A satisfied Vettel is the most important thing

In rumours they have put in Webber's place both Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastien Buemi.

Vettel is the scale who Mateschitz and Marko listen carefully to. Red Bull is nowadays more and more clearly a one man band and as long as Vettel feels his position is strong he will continue in the team.

Vettel's contract covers also next season. It's clear that Mateschitz would want to continue it straight away.

Vettel is very positive about the idea of Räikkönen coming. It would be different if the team mate would prove to be stronger than him. Then the young German would feel that his position is threatened and the harmony would be bound to break.

That's why Buemi along Vettel would more surely guarantee the working peace of the one man band. On the other hand when thinking of market values Buemi is a choirboy at the most in Mateschitz's orchestra compared to Räikkönen.

It's going to get crowded at Toro Rosso

They need at least one empty seat in Toro Rosso because after Webber the Australian quota in this F1-organisation will be filled with Daniel Ricciardo who drives in the Renault World Series this season.

Jaime Alguersuari has proved with his last performances that he will drive at least to the end of this season.

Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole

Loeb, Hirvonen, Räikkönen and others to drive on streets of Porto

This year's Vodafone Rallye de Portugal will see the inclusion of The Porto Roadshow, with the most important cars and drivers entered in the rally participating in the event.

After being appointed the official promoter for the FIA World Rally Championship, North One Sport pledged to support organisers, teams and drivers running events promoting the WRC rallies. And this was an opportunity that the organisers of the Portuguese round of the 2010 championship did not miss.

The Porto Roadshow will be held on the Sunday prior to the rally - May 23rd – amid the stunning scenery of Aliados Avenue. The area surrounding City Hall will be transformed for the day, into a superspecial stage; 950 meters long and with jumps, chicanes, donut areas and drifting, it will set the scene for the following week’s rally perfectly.

The show will start with an autograph session at 2.30pm, then at 3.30pm, practice will start. From 5.00pm and with just one driver on the track, the event itself will begin, with a one-hour live transmission on Portugual’s RTP Channel 1.

Almost twenty drivers and cars will attend the event.

The confirmed names are:
- Sébastien Loeb (Citroen C4 WRC)
- Dani Sordo (Citroen C4 WRC)
- Kimi Räikkönen (Citroen C4 WRC)
- Petter Solberg (Citroen C4 WRC)
- Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus WRC)
- Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus WRC)
- Nasser Al-Attiyah (Skoda Fabia S2000)
- Bernardo Sousa (Ford Fiesta S2000)
- Xavi Pons (Ford Fiesta S2000)
- Vitor Pascoal (Peugeot 207 S2000)
- Armindo Araújo (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X)
- Nick Georgiou (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X - Pirelli Star Driver)
- Peter Horsey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X - Pirelli Star Driver)
- Hayden Paddon (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X - Pirelli Star Driver)
- Alex Raschi (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X - Pirelli Star Driver)
- Ott Tänak (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X - Pirelli Star Driver)

Source: RallyBuzz

RALLY ROADSHOW'S SPECATCULAR JORDAN ARRIVAL

Road train of trucks transporst rally traffic north

Amman, Jordan: The astonishing sight of dozens of rally vehicles brought parts of Jordan to a standstill after the World Rally Championship roadshow finally arrived in Jordan today (Saturday).

Following its long journey from Italy to the Red Sea port city of Aqaba, the colourful array of vehicles was unloaded en-masse before being transported to their home for the next seven days on the banks of Jordan’s breathtaking Dead Sea.

To ensure the smooth arrival and to avoid delays, all customs checks will be carried out at the Dead Sea once the vehicles are in place. The road train provided a truly incredible spectacle as it snaked through communities on its 350km journey north.

“The arrival of the boat from Italy has really raised the excitements levels even further here,” said Khaled Zakaria, Jordan Rally clerk of the course. “We can all now look forward to an exciting event starting with the opening ceremony in Jerash on April 1st.”

The world’s top drivers are all set to arrive in Amman tomorrow (Sunday) and will include six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb, 2008 Jordan Rally Champion Mikko Hirvonen, Former F1 Champion Kimi Raikkonen and 2003 world champion Petter Solberg.

It promises to be a mouth-watering three days of furious action which comes to a close with the podium finish inside the Dead Sea Service Park next Saturday afternoon.

The top spectator spots and best places to view the action have all been uploaded onto the official web site at www.jordanrally.com.

Source: JordanRally.com

Schumacher voted most popular F1 driver

It may not surprise many people to learn that Michael Schumacher is the most popular driver in F1.

But his margin of victory shows just why his return to F1 this year is huge news. In last month’s FOTA/LG/F1 Racing survey he garnered more than twice as many votes as the next most popular driver, Fernando Alonso, with 19.5% to 9.7%.

In third place was a driver who isn’t even racing in F1 any more – Kimi Räikkönen.

Over 90,000 fans responded to the survey earlier this year. Of course what we really want to find out is what they had to say about F1 and how they responded to questions such as whether F1 races should be shortened. Expect those results soon.

Source: F1Fanatic.co.uk

Scans Citroen's magazine

PROFILE: Kimi Räikkönen
By Heikki Kulta

According to many measurements Kimi Räikkönen is the best known Finn in the world right now.

It is known in pretty much every corner of the world that Kimi is a world champion of the pinnacle of circuit racing, F1. Where Finland lies on the map is not as well known. This year Räikkönen will surely get more fans as he boldly moves from the best F1 team to the best WRC rally car.The novelty shines from the Finnish driver's appearance in every way, although succeeding in rally will take a lot of time and hard work. ”Rally is a completely different world compared to what I've been used to in F1. In the F1 paddock everything is a bit stiff and conservative. In rally people are more relaxed”, says the jovial Räikkönen.

Räikkönen's surprising move from F1 to rally was covered as similar mega news as the return of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher to F1 Grand Prixs after three years.

Räikkönen is a celebrity with a capital C but still shies away from publicity. ”Publicity is just a part of this job. But it's a big relief that in rally I can be a bit more relaxed even about that.

”Räikkönen has always passionately loved racing. He has never been vague about that. ”Of course I would be living in paradise if this job was only about driving. I love to drive a racing car. I love it when we are able to make the car better and we work efficiently. I love it when we can challenge for victory.”

HE IS HIMSELF

Of all the Finnish drivers Kimi is the one who has definitely changed the least in F1 publicity. Kimi is known as an Iceman and a racing driver but his family and friends know him as a caring guy who has a warm heart. ”I myself don't feel that I've changed at all. There's no reason why I should have. I'm not here to conciously build some public image and I don't think that anyone expects that of me either."

"It's good that I can be exactly the way that I am. I haven't changed a bit and it's nicer when no one is expecting me to be something that I'm really not.”Well, what is Kimi Räikkönen like then? ”I probably differ from a lot of people in a lot of ways. At least I've lived my life the way I've wanted to. I don't stress about much. I usually do what I want to do.”

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF HIS DRIVING CAREER

Räikkönen would have wanted to drive for Ferrari this year but since that wasn't possible for different reasons he decided to change to a completely different scenery.

F1 star Räikkönen became rally driver Räikkönen. Ferrari's red clothes were replaced by Citroën's and Red Bull's colors when Kimi signed a year-long contract with Red Bull Racing which rents a car for Kimi from Citroën's junior team. ”This is the most difficult challenge of my life. But it's something that I want very much. For the first time I'll have to learn something from the very beginning. On the circuit you race against other cars but in rally you race against the clock. In F1 you sit alone, in rally you sit with a co-driver. The notes are just as important in rally as your gut feeling is in F1."Räikkönen's rally career has evoked plenty of discussion in the world of motorsport. As expected, Kimi is learning the secrets of the Citroën C4 the hard way. Kimi acquainted himself with snow banks in both Lapland and Sweden. ”The mistakes are perfectly normal and it's also normal that there will be more mistakes. The most important thing is to make the best possible notes and learn to drive precisely according to them.”There'll be plenty of new things to analyze when moving from snow to gravel and asphalt. ”In F1 you learn the circuits by driving. In rally every corner is different and every situation is new. You only adjust to them when you gain more experience.”

PATIENCE IS DEMANDED

Patience and the will to learn are of course challenged when there are setbacks. But Räikkönen knows how to deal with them in his own efficient way. ”That bad feeling goes away just as quickly as it comes. You're angry for a moment but then you forget about it. I've always been like that. When I started, the car used to brake down all the time and there wouldn't have been much else to do than to cry and complain. But that would have been useless. Throwing a tantrum doesn't help since it doesn't change the result.

”Räikkönen hasn't regretted his choice for a moment. ”I've always wanted to try rally at some point and now that they're driving with WRC cars for the last year it was nice to get to try them as well. I have a contract for this year. Whether I will stay in rally or go back to F1 depends on how my rallying starts going and what happens in F1.”

THREE FACTS ABOUT KIMI

1. Kimi has an exceptionally well developed ability to perceive time, place and shape three-dimentionally. It is a neuropsychological trait which is very beneficial for a racing driver.

2. If Kimi wasn't a racing driver, he would be an ice-hockey player. He used to play ice-hockey as a junior but quit because the training sessions were held too early in the morning.

3. Kimi likes Finnish music. ”I play Finnish music almost all the time. Well, I don't really play music, I usually just listen to the radio”

KIMI'S FRIENDS TELL ABOUT HIM

Räikkönen has a reputation of being the great silent of the race tracks. But what do his team mates and rivals think?

Felipe Massa, who drove three years as Räikkönen's team mate, joked to the Italian press that during a few days he's spoken more with Fernando Alonso than ever with Kimi. Kimi responded to this comment when he was being interviewed by the rally media in Paris before the start of the WRC season. ”I met Dani Sordo when we were driving in the Arctic Lapland Rally and I talked wit him more then than I did with Massa during three years”.

Andrea Stella, who was Räikkönen's race engineer last year and is now responsible for Alonso's car, confessed at the last race of last season that he will miss Kimi both as a friend and as a co-worker. ”I won't miss Kimi only for personal reasons but also because I know what a fast and competitive driver he is”, said Stella.

And what do his rivals think of Räikkönen?

”Kimi is a pretty sympathetic guy. Completely different than I thought based on magazine articles”, said Dani Sordo from Citroën's factory team after his trip to Rovaniemi.

F1 driver Robert Kubica tried rally himself during the winter and he plans to follow Kimi's example after his F1 career. The Pole likes Räikkönen's style and is keeping a close eye on his WRC career. ”I used to have a different attitude towards Kimi until we spoke a bit longer in some Asian GP. Kimi is a weird guy. During three years we used to only exchange a few words. Then suddenly we just started talking and we talked for a long time. Kimi likes carting and Kimi likes rally. Just like I do.”

F1 champion candidate Sebastian Vettel lives close to Räikkönen in Switzerland. Red Bull's German star is tells very openly about liking Kimi's attitude and his relaxed way of life. ”I'm happy that Kimi lives close by. He's a nice guy. I like Kimi a lot because he's always honest and a very open guy. Many people say that they don't like Kimi because of the way that he is. But Kimi can also be very funny. He's always the same and doesn't treat you differently. No matter who you are. Kimi always says exactly what he's thinking.”

Source: Citroën Magazine

Courtesy: Nicole and Dracaena