Source: vomitg
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rally Finland. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rally Finland. Tampilkan semua postingan
Jumat, 13 Agustus 2010
Jumat, 06 Agustus 2010
Rabu, 04 Agustus 2010
Kimi's Column: ONE DITCH TOO MUCH
Kimi Rally Finland review in Finnish
We finished the rally. We got the kilometers we had set for our target but didn't take the points. It bugs because there were a few small misses and we couldn't stay in the bunch of ten until up to Saturday morning.
I have to say that Jyskälä is a great rally. I can't but congratulate the Finnish rally fans.
This is a rally country and the whole gang was fully with us alongside the roads starting from six in the morning. It gives you a great feeling to drive with a support like that.
I have never got so much support anywhere else and I'm sure all the other Finnish drivers think exactly the same way.
The new format worked well. We drove for two days from morning to evening. I thought it was a successful trial. It felt completely different than it has felt in other races.
I have to say that it's cool to run a fast rally like this with a decent machine. These are great cars. We enjoyed every stage "100" when there's twisting and power to push, the chassis works and the brakes are top class.
It was difficult in the beginning. We didn't really get into the rhythm. We tried different settings before we got the setup to fall in place and set some good SS-times after that. There was a good twist too when we got to race against Kankkunen's Juha for the 7th position. The age isn't weighing him down, that's for sure. He went that fast.
Of course you are never completely satisfied with any stage but there was a few after which we could smile for a reason.
Then Kolonkulma on Saturday morning just went wrong. The car slided on the morning stage to a ditch in a corner turning to the right. We didn't go terribly fast but it was a deep ditch and the car got stuck. We tried to get it up by using the gas but only managed to break the front. Luckily there was enough gang so that we got help to get back on the road.
After that we had to do some tyre work because we only had one spare tyre. One tyre was completely wasted but the other one could be put back on the rim.
We jumped on it for a while and got to continue our journey.
Congratulations to the fan who is somewhere dragging the Citroen bumper as a souvenir.
It went well since we could continue. After the service we got all the pieces back. The rest went well. We got important kilometers of the rally pace both for the car and the dude.
It was great that we got a Finnish winner in Finland's WRC-rally. It means a lot to the rally people.
Now we will change from gravel back to tarmac. We will test in Germany next weekend and after that we are ready for the next challenge. Let's see how it hits in Germany.
Source: Kimiraikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole
We finished the rally. We got the kilometers we had set for our target but didn't take the points. It bugs because there were a few small misses and we couldn't stay in the bunch of ten until up to Saturday morning.I have to say that Jyskälä is a great rally. I can't but congratulate the Finnish rally fans.
This is a rally country and the whole gang was fully with us alongside the roads starting from six in the morning. It gives you a great feeling to drive with a support like that.
I have never got so much support anywhere else and I'm sure all the other Finnish drivers think exactly the same way.
The new format worked well. We drove for two days from morning to evening. I thought it was a successful trial. It felt completely different than it has felt in other races.
I have to say that it's cool to run a fast rally like this with a decent machine. These are great cars. We enjoyed every stage "100" when there's twisting and power to push, the chassis works and the brakes are top class.
It was difficult in the beginning. We didn't really get into the rhythm. We tried different settings before we got the setup to fall in place and set some good SS-times after that. There was a good twist too when we got to race against Kankkunen's Juha for the 7th position. The age isn't weighing him down, that's for sure. He went that fast.
Of course you are never completely satisfied with any stage but there was a few after which we could smile for a reason.
Then Kolonkulma on Saturday morning just went wrong. The car slided on the morning stage to a ditch in a corner turning to the right. We didn't go terribly fast but it was a deep ditch and the car got stuck. We tried to get it up by using the gas but only managed to break the front. Luckily there was enough gang so that we got help to get back on the road.
After that we had to do some tyre work because we only had one spare tyre. One tyre was completely wasted but the other one could be put back on the rim.
We jumped on it for a while and got to continue our journey.
Congratulations to the fan who is somewhere dragging the Citroen bumper as a souvenir.
It went well since we could continue. After the service we got all the pieces back. The rest went well. We got important kilometers of the rally pace both for the car and the dude.
It was great that we got a Finnish winner in Finland's WRC-rally. It means a lot to the rally people.
Now we will change from gravel back to tarmac. We will test in Germany next weekend and after that we are ready for the next challenge. Let's see how it hits in Germany.
Source: Kimiraikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole
Senin, 02 Agustus 2010
Kimi's mid-term report
Now that the World Rally Championship season is more than halfway over, we caught up with Finnish star Kimi Raikkonen to see how he rates his progress up to now…
What do you think of your results so far this year?
“I’d say that our results are what we expected; or maybe slightly better than we expected. When we came into this year, we knew that it was not going to be easy and it would take us some time to adapt and of course this has been the case.
If you consider that everyone else has got so much more experience than us and we had not even done five rallies before the start of the year, it’s not too bad.
Sweden was a tricky event for us to start the year with as the grip kept on changing but then we found it a bit more normal on gravel in Mexico. Jordan was a really tricky rally but we were very pleased to take our first points, and then we had Turkey where we finished fifth, which was a great result.
After Turkey we missed Rally New Zealand and then we had Portugal, which was difficult for us because it took a little bit of time to get into the rhythm again. When we went to Bulgaria I had a good feeling on asphalt and if we had not had an accident, then I think we could have been in the top five.”
How about Finland?
“Actually, Finland was the same sort of story as Bulgaria: some good bits and some bad bits. But it would have been top eight and not top five.”
So how many marks would you give yourself out of 10?
“I’m not sure: I would say maybe five? Because some bits have been good and some other bits have been not so good but in the end it was all more or less what I was expecting. OK, maybe we have done a bit better than I was expecting, so I could give myself five and a half or six?”
Making pace notes has been a big challenge. How is that going?
“That’s probably one of the hardest things for me. Even when I was in Formula One I never really liked it when engineers were talking to me over the radio when I was driving the car in the circuit. Now though it is part of the job. There is probably more speed to come from me through improving the pace notes than there is in any other area.”
Rallying is a slightly mad sport. Does it ever scare you?
“No, there is nothing that I am scared of in a rally car: it is just a very different style of driving. In the end you have to trust your co-driver and your pace notes because this is part of the skill of rallying.
Having said that, when you go off on a circuit, you normally go off into a gravel trap or a tyre wall. When you go off in rallying there are trees. There is no room for mistakes, and although I am making a few all the time, this is one of the things that attracts me to rallying. If it was easy, then everybody would do it.”
Have your targets changed at all this year?
“No, not really. I just want to gradually improve and learn everything you need to succeed in rallying. It’s unrealistic to expect much more in your first year as rallying is all about experience.
The chances are that I’m not going to be able to win anything this year but if I could have one or two more results in the top five then that would be really good. But I think it’s going to be tough…”
Source: RedBull
Courtesy: Kriss
What do you think of your results so far this year?“I’d say that our results are what we expected; or maybe slightly better than we expected. When we came into this year, we knew that it was not going to be easy and it would take us some time to adapt and of course this has been the case.
If you consider that everyone else has got so much more experience than us and we had not even done five rallies before the start of the year, it’s not too bad.
Sweden was a tricky event for us to start the year with as the grip kept on changing but then we found it a bit more normal on gravel in Mexico. Jordan was a really tricky rally but we were very pleased to take our first points, and then we had Turkey where we finished fifth, which was a great result.
After Turkey we missed Rally New Zealand and then we had Portugal, which was difficult for us because it took a little bit of time to get into the rhythm again. When we went to Bulgaria I had a good feeling on asphalt and if we had not had an accident, then I think we could have been in the top five.”
How about Finland?
“Actually, Finland was the same sort of story as Bulgaria: some good bits and some bad bits. But it would have been top eight and not top five.”
So how many marks would you give yourself out of 10?
“I’m not sure: I would say maybe five? Because some bits have been good and some other bits have been not so good but in the end it was all more or less what I was expecting. OK, maybe we have done a bit better than I was expecting, so I could give myself five and a half or six?”
Making pace notes has been a big challenge. How is that going?
“That’s probably one of the hardest things for me. Even when I was in Formula One I never really liked it when engineers were talking to me over the radio when I was driving the car in the circuit. Now though it is part of the job. There is probably more speed to come from me through improving the pace notes than there is in any other area.”
Rallying is a slightly mad sport. Does it ever scare you?
“No, there is nothing that I am scared of in a rally car: it is just a very different style of driving. In the end you have to trust your co-driver and your pace notes because this is part of the skill of rallying.
Having said that, when you go off on a circuit, you normally go off into a gravel trap or a tyre wall. When you go off in rallying there are trees. There is no room for mistakes, and although I am making a few all the time, this is one of the things that attracts me to rallying. If it was easy, then everybody would do it.”
Have your targets changed at all this year?
“No, not really. I just want to gradually improve and learn everything you need to succeed in rallying. It’s unrealistic to expect much more in your first year as rallying is all about experience.
The chances are that I’m not going to be able to win anything this year but if I could have one or two more results in the top five then that would be really good. But I think it’s going to be tough…”
Source: RedBull
Courtesy: Kriss
Minggu, 01 Agustus 2010
Räikkönen: I'm not comparing myself to other drivers
Kimi Räikkönen is in a special situation, he has been able to test his skills on the top level of both circuit and rally racing.
F1 champion Räikkönen says that he has no need to prove his multitalent to the public or to other drivers. He just wants to see how high he can reach in rally.
-I actually haven't thought about the whole multitalent thing. I've never been too interested about what other people think of my abilities, Räikkönen says to STT.
There have been other Finnish drivers in the past who have been able to succeed at both the circuit and rally. But unlike Räikkönen they were never able to drive a top car in both F1 and WRC.
One of these multitalented drivers was WRC race winner Henri Toivonen who would have had an opportunity to make a career in formula cars as well. Toivonen was killed in an accident at Corsica's WRC rally in 1986.
-I don't compare myself to other drivers but I've heard that Toivonen drove small small formula cars really fast. Unfortunately his rally career was left short, Räikkönen remembers.
”Some day on the top of rally”
Multitalent or not, Räikkönen gives the impression that he's serious about rally. He wants to learn and get closer and closer to the elite of the sport.
-Of course I knew that succeeding in rally will be difficult. I didn't expect to just suddenly do well. Hopefully some day we can drive at the very top, Räikkönen says.
In rally learning often happens through mistakes but Räikkönen hasn't shown signs of giving up. A good example of that was Rally Finland where he just kept going after driving out. He wanted to continue so that he would gain experience from the roads of the Finnish WRC rally.
-Of course it would be great to some day do well in rally as well but there's still a lot to learn.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Dracaena
F1 champion Räikkönen says that he has no need to prove his multitalent to the public or to other drivers. He just wants to see how high he can reach in rally.-I actually haven't thought about the whole multitalent thing. I've never been too interested about what other people think of my abilities, Räikkönen says to STT.
There have been other Finnish drivers in the past who have been able to succeed at both the circuit and rally. But unlike Räikkönen they were never able to drive a top car in both F1 and WRC.
One of these multitalented drivers was WRC race winner Henri Toivonen who would have had an opportunity to make a career in formula cars as well. Toivonen was killed in an accident at Corsica's WRC rally in 1986.
-I don't compare myself to other drivers but I've heard that Toivonen drove small small formula cars really fast. Unfortunately his rally career was left short, Räikkönen remembers.
”Some day on the top of rally”
Multitalent or not, Räikkönen gives the impression that he's serious about rally. He wants to learn and get closer and closer to the elite of the sport.
-Of course I knew that succeeding in rally will be difficult. I didn't expect to just suddenly do well. Hopefully some day we can drive at the very top, Räikkönen says.
In rally learning often happens through mistakes but Räikkönen hasn't shown signs of giving up. A good example of that was Rally Finland where he just kept going after driving out. He wanted to continue so that he would gain experience from the roads of the Finnish WRC rally.
-Of course it would be great to some day do well in rally as well but there's still a lot to learn.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Dracaena
Sabtu, 31 Juli 2010
Kimi had the first note curse
Kimi Räikkönen's learning year in the rally world has been as thorny as expected since experience has to be found through making mistakes.
On the second try in Rally Finland Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström got to the finish line, as was the goal. But them main aim of a flawless performance, which would also have been a birthday present for the now 41-year-old co-driver, was not achieved.
After Friday Räikkönen charged himself for a tough battle against Juha Kankkunen but already on the first special stage of the morning, Kolonkulma, the former F1 star got into trouble. The Citroen slid into a deep ditch and couldn't get out. The front bumper was left on the side of the road and the tyres on the driver's side peeled off their rims.
-We just came too fast to a slow corner turning to the right. The car fell into a ditch and wouldn't come up on it's own. We tried to get up by accelerating and while doing that the front broke on the side of the ditch. We got help from the spectators and eventually we were back on the road, Lindström explained.
-We only had one spare tyre and we had to wonder how to get one tyre back on it's rim so that the air would stay in. Then we just drove peacefully, Räikkönen told.
In the final results Räikkönen was 25th 23 minutes behind winner Jari-Matti Latvala.
The first note has it's risks
While the Citroen was lying hopelessly torn in the service area, Tommi Mäkinen went to hear what his friends had been up to.
-It's typical that the mistake happened on the special stage for which Kimi made the pace notes first. It just goes to show how extremely difficult it is to make pace notes. That's the biggest problem and challenge when compared to driving F1, said Mäkinen.
Lindström explained what the first stage pace note problem means.
-When the rally goes on and you gain experience you start to check the first note during that day and the next day. You just try to make it more accurate and therefore the risks are highest on the first stage. The same thing happened to Tommi sometimes, the note for the first stage was a bit less accurate than for the others.
-Kimi was concentrated but mistakes just happen. The needed experience only comes this way, Lindström thought.
For Räikkönen driving to the finish line was like putting money on a high-interest savings account.
-It's good that we managed to drive through all the stages. If Kimi continues with rally in the future he will benefit a lot from driving the whole rally in Jyväskylä with this car and on race speed, Lindström reminded.
No bullseye stage
The experienced co-driver estimates that only two stages went badly: Myhinpää on the first time on Friday and then Kolonkulma on Saturday morning.
But what about Räikkönen himself – how many stages went well?
-Probably none of them were such that I'd be really pleased with them. When you're driving you always notice that you could be going a lot faster.
Räikkönen fully enjoyed his home race.
-It's one of the sweetest rallies. It's well organized and the feeling among the spectators is different than in a lot of the other places. Rally is popular in Finland. People sit next to the stages from six in the morning and everybody has flags waving and it shows that people are rally fans here, Räikkönen praised.
Information in a completely different way
Mäkinen denied being Räikkönen's mentor.
-I'm not involved in Kimi's racing. He has the Citroen team with him.
Mäkinen emphasized that Räikkönen doesn't have to learn the actual driving.
-You learn to drive a car by practicing. With Kimi the problem is that when driving on a circuit he was able to memorize every spot by heart. In rally there's information coming in all the time and it's coming through a different route, through the ears when the co-driver is reading the pace notes.
-You have to learn to utilise that and it's from a different world than anything else in the motorsport world, even realizing how much time it takes. It is taking time but Kimi's ability to make the notes is improving all the time, Mäkinen emphasized.
Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Dracaena
On the second try in Rally Finland Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström got to the finish line, as was the goal. But them main aim of a flawless performance, which would also have been a birthday present for the now 41-year-old co-driver, was not achieved.After Friday Räikkönen charged himself for a tough battle against Juha Kankkunen but already on the first special stage of the morning, Kolonkulma, the former F1 star got into trouble. The Citroen slid into a deep ditch and couldn't get out. The front bumper was left on the side of the road and the tyres on the driver's side peeled off their rims.
-We just came too fast to a slow corner turning to the right. The car fell into a ditch and wouldn't come up on it's own. We tried to get up by accelerating and while doing that the front broke on the side of the ditch. We got help from the spectators and eventually we were back on the road, Lindström explained.
-We only had one spare tyre and we had to wonder how to get one tyre back on it's rim so that the air would stay in. Then we just drove peacefully, Räikkönen told.
In the final results Räikkönen was 25th 23 minutes behind winner Jari-Matti Latvala.
The first note has it's risks
While the Citroen was lying hopelessly torn in the service area, Tommi Mäkinen went to hear what his friends had been up to.
-It's typical that the mistake happened on the special stage for which Kimi made the pace notes first. It just goes to show how extremely difficult it is to make pace notes. That's the biggest problem and challenge when compared to driving F1, said Mäkinen.
Lindström explained what the first stage pace note problem means.
-When the rally goes on and you gain experience you start to check the first note during that day and the next day. You just try to make it more accurate and therefore the risks are highest on the first stage. The same thing happened to Tommi sometimes, the note for the first stage was a bit less accurate than for the others.
-Kimi was concentrated but mistakes just happen. The needed experience only comes this way, Lindström thought.
For Räikkönen driving to the finish line was like putting money on a high-interest savings account.
-It's good that we managed to drive through all the stages. If Kimi continues with rally in the future he will benefit a lot from driving the whole rally in Jyväskylä with this car and on race speed, Lindström reminded.
No bullseye stage
The experienced co-driver estimates that only two stages went badly: Myhinpää on the first time on Friday and then Kolonkulma on Saturday morning.
But what about Räikkönen himself – how many stages went well?
-Probably none of them were such that I'd be really pleased with them. When you're driving you always notice that you could be going a lot faster.
Räikkönen fully enjoyed his home race.
-It's one of the sweetest rallies. It's well organized and the feeling among the spectators is different than in a lot of the other places. Rally is popular in Finland. People sit next to the stages from six in the morning and everybody has flags waving and it shows that people are rally fans here, Räikkönen praised.
Information in a completely different way
Mäkinen denied being Räikkönen's mentor.
-I'm not involved in Kimi's racing. He has the Citroen team with him.
Mäkinen emphasized that Räikkönen doesn't have to learn the actual driving.
-You learn to drive a car by practicing. With Kimi the problem is that when driving on a circuit he was able to memorize every spot by heart. In rally there's information coming in all the time and it's coming through a different route, through the ears when the co-driver is reading the pace notes.
-You have to learn to utilise that and it's from a different world than anything else in the motorsport world, even realizing how much time it takes. It is taking time but Kimi's ability to make the notes is improving all the time, Mäkinen emphasized.
Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Dracaena
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN - NESTE OIL RALLY FINLAND 2010, FINAL DAY
Kimi Räikkönen experiences the ups and downs of Rally Finland. There are lots of hippies in Finland. But rather than people who hang around talking about flower power and making love not war, a ‘hyppy’ in Finnish means a big jump.
Naturally, there are more ‘hyppys’ on Rally Finland than there are at Woodstock. Just to reinforce this impression, there are quite a few old camper vans out there too. Hippies, of course, like nothing better than getting high. And so do rally drivers.
Of course we’re talking about those flat-out crests that characterise Rally Finland, sending the cars soaring for nearly a hundred metres into the air. As David Copperfield said, you’ll believe a man can fly.
With so many big jumps, it is inevitable that Rally Finland contains several ups and downs. Kimi Raikkonen experienced both during the second and final day of his home event. On the opening stage of the day, the ‘Iceman’ got caught out by a right-hand corner and slid into a ditch.
The car was undamaged but it took some time to drive out of the ditch, as for once there wasn’t a huge crowd of spectators around to help. While the crew were trying to regain the road, the front bumper of the C4 WRC became detached from the rest of it.
To make matters worse, both front tyres then came off the rim. With only one spare wheel, the crew then struggled to get the other deflated tyre back on the rim and more than 10 minutes were lost in total.
Had it not been for that, then the ‘Iceman’ would have been comfortably in the points on his home event: an excellent achievement for somebody contesting the most specialised and complex rally on the calendar in a World Rally Car for the first time.
“We were a bit unlucky this morning but it’s all part of the learning process,“ said Kimi, the winner of the 2007 Formula One title. “During the first day we tried not to take too many risks to be sure of making the finish, then we just got caught out on a slippery corner at the beginning of day two. With only two days in the rally this year there’s not so much chance to make up the time lost, so from then on it was a question of getting to the finish. We were able to make a lot of progress with the pace notes, which was useful, and have more kilometres behind the wheel of the car, which is the most important thing. Of course I’m a bit disappointed as there was no real motivation today but in the end getting to the finish was the main aim. It’s all about the experience.“
Kimi’s fellow Finn and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom added: “The really positive thing is we’ve continued the good work that we left off in Bulgaria. But this is a tough sport. You can have a good rally and survive all the complicated things, but then caught out by a place that is reasonably slow and straightforward, which is what happened to us today. We had been going very carefully during the first day and we thought that it might be possible to push a bit harder on day two. In the end we never really got the chance, as after we went off it was hard to find the same pace. We built up more experience though and above all we hope that everybody enjoyed watching us. There were certainly loads of people out there!“
Source: RedBullRallye
Naturally, there are more ‘hyppys’ on Rally Finland than there are at Woodstock. Just to reinforce this impression, there are quite a few old camper vans out there too. Hippies, of course, like nothing better than getting high. And so do rally drivers. Of course we’re talking about those flat-out crests that characterise Rally Finland, sending the cars soaring for nearly a hundred metres into the air. As David Copperfield said, you’ll believe a man can fly.
With so many big jumps, it is inevitable that Rally Finland contains several ups and downs. Kimi Raikkonen experienced both during the second and final day of his home event. On the opening stage of the day, the ‘Iceman’ got caught out by a right-hand corner and slid into a ditch.
The car was undamaged but it took some time to drive out of the ditch, as for once there wasn’t a huge crowd of spectators around to help. While the crew were trying to regain the road, the front bumper of the C4 WRC became detached from the rest of it.
To make matters worse, both front tyres then came off the rim. With only one spare wheel, the crew then struggled to get the other deflated tyre back on the rim and more than 10 minutes were lost in total.
Had it not been for that, then the ‘Iceman’ would have been comfortably in the points on his home event: an excellent achievement for somebody contesting the most specialised and complex rally on the calendar in a World Rally Car for the first time.
“We were a bit unlucky this morning but it’s all part of the learning process,“ said Kimi, the winner of the 2007 Formula One title. “During the first day we tried not to take too many risks to be sure of making the finish, then we just got caught out on a slippery corner at the beginning of day two. With only two days in the rally this year there’s not so much chance to make up the time lost, so from then on it was a question of getting to the finish. We were able to make a lot of progress with the pace notes, which was useful, and have more kilometres behind the wheel of the car, which is the most important thing. Of course I’m a bit disappointed as there was no real motivation today but in the end getting to the finish was the main aim. It’s all about the experience.“
Kimi’s fellow Finn and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom added: “The really positive thing is we’ve continued the good work that we left off in Bulgaria. But this is a tough sport. You can have a good rally and survive all the complicated things, but then caught out by a place that is reasonably slow and straightforward, which is what happened to us today. We had been going very carefully during the first day and we thought that it might be possible to push a bit harder on day two. In the end we never really got the chance, as after we went off it was hard to find the same pace. We built up more experience though and above all we hope that everybody enjoyed watching us. There were certainly loads of people out there!“
Source: RedBullRallye
Räikkönen to MTV3: My Jyväskylä victory may take some time
After Finland's WRC rally MTV3 asked Kimi Räikkönen whether his name will some day be written on the honorable list of Jyväskylä winners. Jari-Matti Latvala was added on that list on Saturday.
After the race Räikkönen almost promised to return to Jyväskylä's gravel roads next year.
-It's very much possible. Nothing is certain but it's a bigger chance than me driving in F1.
Reaching the victory battle in Rally Finland demands previous experience.
-There's fast roads here that one can drive really fast when one knows them. I've noticed that it would be possible to drive a lot faster into many places but that will come after driving them enough. This was one of the most difficult rallies. Rally Finland is well organized and there were a lot of spectators. The feeling is a bit different than in a lot of other places. It was a wonderful experience, Räikkönen said.
Next Räikkönen heads to Germany for rally tests. So he won't participate in Helsinki Motorsport Weekend next week.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Dracaena
After the race Räikkönen almost promised to return to Jyväskylä's gravel roads next year.-It's very much possible. Nothing is certain but it's a bigger chance than me driving in F1.
Reaching the victory battle in Rally Finland demands previous experience.
-There's fast roads here that one can drive really fast when one knows them. I've noticed that it would be possible to drive a lot faster into many places but that will come after driving them enough. This was one of the most difficult rallies. Rally Finland is well organized and there were a lot of spectators. The feeling is a bit different than in a lot of other places. It was a wonderful experience, Räikkönen said.
Next Räikkönen heads to Germany for rally tests. So he won't participate in Helsinki Motorsport Weekend next week.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Dracaena
Kimi Räikkönen didn't bother to worry over his rally
Kimi Räikkönen didn't bother to worry even though Rally Finland ended in a worse than expected position after small driving errrors. Räikkönen drove out on the first special stage of the final day and fell far down on the resultboard.
-There were mistakes but what can you do. I'm not too annoyed over it, Räikkönen said right after the finish line of the rally's last special stage.
Räikkönen still has some things to learn with the pace notes. In Jyväskylä the need to trust the notes is highlighted. But Räikkönen wasn't too upset over his difficult race.
-At least we learned these stages which kind of was the purpose. One has to learn them if one wants to succeed and fight for top positions, Räikkönen said.
Räikkönen, who is driving for the Citroen Junior Team, finished the rally at 25th position. Strained by accidents and time penalties he was more than 23 minutes behind winner Jari-Matti Latvala.
Riku Salminen, Jyväskylä
Source: YLE.fi
Courtesy: Dracaena
-There were mistakes but what can you do. I'm not too annoyed over it, Räikkönen said right after the finish line of the rally's last special stage.Räikkönen still has some things to learn with the pace notes. In Jyväskylä the need to trust the notes is highlighted. But Räikkönen wasn't too upset over his difficult race.
-At least we learned these stages which kind of was the purpose. One has to learn them if one wants to succeed and fight for top positions, Räikkönen said.
Räikkönen, who is driving for the Citroen Junior Team, finished the rally at 25th position. Strained by accidents and time penalties he was more than 23 minutes behind winner Jari-Matti Latvala.
Riku Salminen, Jyväskylä
Source: YLE.fi
Courtesy: Dracaena
Jumat, 30 Juli 2010
RÄIKKÖNEN: TOMORROW PAST KANKKUNEN!
They got Kimi Räikkönen's setups in place only during the end of Friday.
- It's been a somewhat difficult day. Now during the last two stages the car was more like it was in testing. It got a bit easier to drive. We have changed the car all the time, Kimi told.
- Myhinpää wasn't any pleasure the first time because it was new to me but it was remarkably easier the other time.
Kimi hasn't given up the fight against Juha Kankkunen.
- I think we will try and get by Kankkunen tomorrow. I don't know other than a few kilometers from Väärinmaja but I have been in the other stages. I think tomorrow will be a bit easier, Kimi said.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole
- It's been a somewhat difficult day. Now during the last two stages the car was more like it was in testing. It got a bit easier to drive. We have changed the car all the time, Kimi told.- Myhinpää wasn't any pleasure the first time because it was new to me but it was remarkably easier the other time.
Kimi hasn't given up the fight against Juha Kankkunen.
- I think we will try and get by Kankkunen tomorrow. I don't know other than a few kilometers from Väärinmaja but I have been in the other stages. I think tomorrow will be a bit easier, Kimi said.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole
Kankkunen vs Räikkönen tingles
– It's nice to race with Kimi. It gives a bit of a challenge. I haven't even looked at others, Kankkunen assured.
Räikkönen caught Kankkunen by 4 seconds and promised he would try to close the gap on Saturday.
– He can always try. Let's see, Kankkunen said.What about the start?
– .I didnt' see the lights. My co-driver Juha Repo told me that he saw even though the sun was shining. He counted the start for me like normal and then we took off. If it was a jumpstart then it was 1/1000 at most. I have never jumpstarted in my lfe. Now I looked at the lights only after we took off even though I couldn't see it, Kankkunen cleared.
Kankkunen enjoys driving.
– It went well, fell into places very well once I learned to trust the car and the brakes. It's easier to get them this way than to go out. I especially enjoyed Myhinpää. I even laughed at times when I had a suspension so that I could just let it go, didn't have to stress, Kankkunen said.
Räikkönen got his Citroen the way he liked it only for the two last stages.
– That's when it worked like it did in testing. It was a difficult day and we decided that we won't do anything more with the car because the end went so much better. I jsut have to try and catch Juha by driving. Now all stages were new. I absolutely did not enjoy Myhinpää the first time. On Saturday there are stages we drove last year already. That should help, Räikkönen said.
A sign of the way Räikkönen is a quick learner is Myhinpää where he improved his time with 17 seconds meaning one second per kilometer when driving for the second time.
– It was sticky in the beginning and we didn't find the rhythm. It's better to drive nicely by the note as agreed upon and there we found the rhythm. If you try to overdo it the clock doesn't like it, Kaj Lindström said.
Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole
NESTE OIL RALLY FINLAND 2010, DAY 1 - RÄIKKÖNEN
The first half of the Rally Finland has gone perfectly to plan for the Citroën Junior Team. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti are fifth overall, having set a fastest stage time in the land of the 1000 lakes. Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström are currently eighth. A long day of 162 competitive kilometres remains on the programme for tomorrow.
The Rally Finland got underway on Thursday night with Laajavouri: a televised stage that used to form the shakedown for the event. Both Dani Sordo and Kimi Räikkönen made a careful start to finish in the top 10 on the opening test, held in a heatwave that saw Thursday’s temperatures peak at 37.2°C: a national record.
The second half of day one got underway at 0630 this morning with two loops of two special stages that were run consecutively, without a visit to the service park in Jyväskylä. Dani Sordo got off to a flying start from the very beginning of the event. After a sixth-quickest, a fifthquickest and a fourth-quickest time, the Spaniard set his very first fastest stage time in Finland on Jukojärvi 2:
"I’ve got a very good feeling,” he said. “The Citroën Junior Team’s C4 WRC suits me perfectly. We worked extremely well together with the team and I’m feeling very comfortable on these fast stages.” Kimi Räikkönen was competing on his home event for the second time and he also made progress with every kilometre that passed. Fulfilling all the goals that he had set himself to the letter, the former F1 World Champion returned to Jyväskylä occupying eighth place overall at midday service. “I used the first few stages just to get to grips with everything,” said the Finn. “The pace is extremely quick with the Citroën C4 WRC, much more than was the case last year! The car is perfect but I’m still lacking in both mexperience and confidence. I can see where I am losing time though.”
As he racked up the kilometres and built up his experience, Kimi was slowed on SS8 after Henning Solberg went off. “People were signalling for me to slow down,” he reported. “Afterwards, it was hard to find the right rhythm again. The stages that we are doing for the first time are the most difficult ones. I’m trying to attack but it’s a lot easier the second time round. We have to carry on like this now but make sure that we stay concentrated in order not to make any mistakes. Tomorrow is a long day and I hope that it will be a little easier.”
In the afternoon, Dani Sordo was not as comfortable as he had been in the morning. On these extremely specialised roads, where even the smallest mistake can carry serious consequences, the Spaniard preferred not to take any risks. “ I had some problems with my pace notes, ” he explained. “ You need 100% confidence to go quickly in Finland and that wasn’t the case for me then. I lost a few seconds but we are still in the running. We’re going to work hard with our stage videos tonight in order to push hard again tomorrow!”
With its new two-day format this year, the Rally Finland is due to finish tomorrow night. Eight special stages are in store for all the crews, totalling 162.78 kilometres.
Source: RedBullRally
The Rally Finland got underway on Thursday night with Laajavouri: a televised stage that used to form the shakedown for the event. Both Dani Sordo and Kimi Räikkönen made a careful start to finish in the top 10 on the opening test, held in a heatwave that saw Thursday’s temperatures peak at 37.2°C: a national record. The second half of day one got underway at 0630 this morning with two loops of two special stages that were run consecutively, without a visit to the service park in Jyväskylä. Dani Sordo got off to a flying start from the very beginning of the event. After a sixth-quickest, a fifthquickest and a fourth-quickest time, the Spaniard set his very first fastest stage time in Finland on Jukojärvi 2:
"I’ve got a very good feeling,” he said. “The Citroën Junior Team’s C4 WRC suits me perfectly. We worked extremely well together with the team and I’m feeling very comfortable on these fast stages.” Kimi Räikkönen was competing on his home event for the second time and he also made progress with every kilometre that passed. Fulfilling all the goals that he had set himself to the letter, the former F1 World Champion returned to Jyväskylä occupying eighth place overall at midday service. “I used the first few stages just to get to grips with everything,” said the Finn. “The pace is extremely quick with the Citroën C4 WRC, much more than was the case last year! The car is perfect but I’m still lacking in both mexperience and confidence. I can see where I am losing time though.”
As he racked up the kilometres and built up his experience, Kimi was slowed on SS8 after Henning Solberg went off. “People were signalling for me to slow down,” he reported. “Afterwards, it was hard to find the right rhythm again. The stages that we are doing for the first time are the most difficult ones. I’m trying to attack but it’s a lot easier the second time round. We have to carry on like this now but make sure that we stay concentrated in order not to make any mistakes. Tomorrow is a long day and I hope that it will be a little easier.”
In the afternoon, Dani Sordo was not as comfortable as he had been in the morning. On these extremely specialised roads, where even the smallest mistake can carry serious consequences, the Spaniard preferred not to take any risks. “ I had some problems with my pace notes, ” he explained. “ You need 100% confidence to go quickly in Finland and that wasn’t the case for me then. I lost a few seconds but we are still in the running. We’re going to work hard with our stage videos tonight in order to push hard again tomorrow!”
With its new two-day format this year, the Rally Finland is due to finish tomorrow night. Eight special stages are in store for all the crews, totalling 162.78 kilometres.
Source: RedBullRally
Räikkönen craving home success
Kimi Raikkonen is one of Finnish motorsport's all-time greats. With a Formula 1 World title and 18 grand prix wins to his name, it would be foolish to argue otherwise.
However, the Scandinavian nation has always prided itself on producing the planet's best rally drivers, and this weekend's Rally Finland, the latest round of the World Championship, gives him a chance to become one of them.
Rally Finland, named the 1000 Lakes Rally until 1997, has been dominated by locals since its inception. Just eight times in 59 years has a foreign driver won (and only four of those went to non-Scandinavians).
Hannu Mikkola and Marcus Gronholm have both won the rally a record seven times, while Markku Alen and Tommi Makinen have taken six and five victories respectively.
Of the current front-runners, only Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen have tasted victory, while three-time winner Juha Kankkunen will make a popular return after a few years out of the sport.
Loeb and Hirvonen are currently the two highest-ranked rally drivers in the Castrol Rankings in third and seventh places respectively, and will be sure-fire contenders for the win.
But what of Raikkonen's chances? His most convincing showing since switching codes unsurprisingly came on the asphalt-based Rally Bulgaria as he set some competitive stage times before crashing his Citroen C4.
However, the Citroen Junior Rally Team driver's best finish of his WRC career came with fifth place on Rally Turkey - a gravel event!
Going in Raikkonen's favour is that he has competed on Rally Finland before - his WRC debut came on the 2009 event in a Super 2000 Fiat and will be able to bank on the experience he gained on the Jyvaskyla-based event 12 months ago.
Going against the driver though, who lies 38th in the Castrol Rankings, is the strength of his opposition. As well as Loeb and Hirvonen, there's Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala (36), Petter Solberg (42) and his own team-mate Sebastien Ogier (28), who won't make life easy for him.
One thing guaranteed though is that he will be spectacular. If he can keep his Citroen between the trees and ditches for three days, he'll come out confidence enhanced. If he could win!
Source: Castrol Rankings
Rally-Kimi has learned a lot
Turun Sanomat, Jyväskylä
Kimi Räikkönen was so busy on Thursday that this interview we had agreed was moved more and more later until 50 minutes before the SS1 Kimi had time to answer to a few questions.
If I write that you drive rally in 2011, is it wrong information?
– To be honest I don't know yet, Kimi said.
How much better as a rally driver are you now if you compare to the rookie who started from here a year ago?
– At least I have learned a lot. I learned a lot during the beginning of the season but there is a huge amount to learn.
Experts see that Räikkönen drives Red Bull Citroen like a F1-driver. Kimi takes the car in a straight line concentrating on the front and doesn't let the rear slide like you could do with a rally car.
Do you still think when driving that you driver like a F1-driver?
– I guess my thinking has changed a bit. It's hard to say because I have learned so much. I guess this is a different starting point, Räikkönen thought.
What has been the most difficult thing to adapt to?
– Everything is new. Of course notes are the most difficult to learn. I make them and listen. Sometimes I just put a little more effort into driving and don't hear them and have to ask for them again. Many of my mistakes are due to me not listening carefully enough to the note. It's the most difficult thing because it doesn't happen automatically, Räikkönen said.
What do you expect from this rally?
– I hope it will become a good rally and that I don't make any stupid mistakes. If I'm one second per km behind the lead, then I'm satisfied. It helps a bit that we have notes from last year.
Gravel is the real element for the Finnish rally stars but for Räikkönen it seems that tarmac is a more natural surface.
– I have drove on tarmac all my life, that's why. I expect more of me on gravel too but since I haven't had many rallies my driving style is a bit different. In rally experience means more than it means in F1. If you make a small mistake in rally it costs a lot. In F1 you usually get back on the track through the safety-area.
Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole
Kimi Räikkönen was so busy on Thursday that this interview we had agreed was moved more and more later until 50 minutes before the SS1 Kimi had time to answer to a few questions. If I write that you drive rally in 2011, is it wrong information?
– To be honest I don't know yet, Kimi said.
How much better as a rally driver are you now if you compare to the rookie who started from here a year ago?
– At least I have learned a lot. I learned a lot during the beginning of the season but there is a huge amount to learn.
Experts see that Räikkönen drives Red Bull Citroen like a F1-driver. Kimi takes the car in a straight line concentrating on the front and doesn't let the rear slide like you could do with a rally car.
Do you still think when driving that you driver like a F1-driver?
– I guess my thinking has changed a bit. It's hard to say because I have learned so much. I guess this is a different starting point, Räikkönen thought.
What has been the most difficult thing to adapt to?
– Everything is new. Of course notes are the most difficult to learn. I make them and listen. Sometimes I just put a little more effort into driving and don't hear them and have to ask for them again. Many of my mistakes are due to me not listening carefully enough to the note. It's the most difficult thing because it doesn't happen automatically, Räikkönen said.
What do you expect from this rally?
– I hope it will become a good rally and that I don't make any stupid mistakes. If I'm one second per km behind the lead, then I'm satisfied. It helps a bit that we have notes from last year.
Gravel is the real element for the Finnish rally stars but for Räikkönen it seems that tarmac is a more natural surface.
– I have drove on tarmac all my life, that's why. I expect more of me on gravel too but since I haven't had many rallies my driving style is a bit different. In rally experience means more than it means in F1. If you make a small mistake in rally it costs a lot. In F1 you usually get back on the track through the safety-area.
Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole
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