Kimi's Column: TOUGHEST RALLY, NO BLUNDERS

Kimi Rally de Portugal review in Finnish

Just like we remembered to begin with, Portugal is a difficult rally. When the stages are difficult the challenges are spectacular. Yet we could drive for three days without blunders. It left us with good feelings and we got yet again more points.

Now we have two rallies from this season under our belt and we have kept the car on the road. In Portugal the consistency, somekind of evenness, was found. In that sense it's good to look ahead. When you can drive a rally like this cleanly, then you can little by little start to lift the pace too.

To begin with our setups were completely *** No swearing ***-up. The team made a small mistake and the car was pretty much in wrong setups. We discovered it on Friday and on Saturday we got immediately more trust in the driving when the car started working the way it should have worked after the tests.

From there on I got a good feeling to drive whereas on Friday we were completley in the blue thinking what was wrong with it. Oh well, it was the car.

On Friday the air disappeared hastily from the tyre. So we drove that stage with an empty ragged wheel to the finish line and lost time there. The rally as a whole was okay and the result was okay. I should have drove completely super in order to battle for a better position.

At least we learned more about the car again. The routine comes from feeling the car. Sometimes I'm completely satisfied with my driving, sometimes not. I have noticed one thing though, the more I drive rally, the less situations.

That's how it should be too, so that we can try and drive faster.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: Nicole

Räikkönen promises to increase his speed next

Kimi Räikkönen has now drove this season's two rallies without making any bigger mistakes. In Sweden he was 8th and in Portugal he was 7th.

We didn't experience an afternoon flash like in Sweden - several stages in a row in top 5 - in Räikkönen's first rally on gravel.

– I'm kind of like a score-automaton, Räikkönen joked.

In Portugal Petter Solberg went past him on the powerstage with a bang.

– We knew he was coming since he was so close. We could have come totally super but we didn't take the risk, instead we came to the finish, Räikkönen said although he is always bugged when even one place is lost.

ICE1 Racing -team's Citroen came to Portugal with wrong setups. On Saturday the setups were right but they got the car to it's best only on Sunday. After the rally ended it would have been in the best stitch to start the race.

– At least we learned about the car when the setups weren't nearly what they should have been. I guess it's easier now to go to the next rally.

No surprising situations

Then what about the progress - do you feel that you took a step forward like in Sweden the second time?

– It didn't go exactly like that. This race was only driving. It made no sense to push too hard. Sure it went better when you really tried. We took it pretty peacefully almost all the time.

– When I have been driving more and got more experience those situations won't come up anymore. Next I have to try and drive faster now that the notes are kind of safe and listening to them has also improved. That way you won't run into those surprises, Räikkönen said.

If Rally Jordan is cancelled on Monday, then Räikkönen will participate in Rally Sardinia which wasn't in his preliminary schedule.

Has Räikkönen caught up with the top drivers?

– Still an ice-figure skater won't start making goals in hockey at once because the genres are so different. In rally you can count with both hands fingers the requirements you have to master 100% in order to get in the same speed as the top. Kimi has learned a lot of each of those but not enough. The fact that he has such a good speed with this short training is a sign of talent, Kaj Lindström said.

Turun Sanomat, Faro

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Räikkönen bite the dust

Kimi Räikkönen came in 7th but suffered in time because of Armindo Araujo.

– We got stuck in the dust behind that Mini for about 8 km because he had a puncture or something else. We got the car better and my own driving got better too, Räikkönen coughed.

– It more cool to drive when the car feels normal. On Friday we *** No swearing *** up the setups and we had made some mistakes from the beginning.

What about the F1-race. Did you see the qualification in the morning?

– No, because I'm not there, Räikkönen said.

Turun Sanomat, Faro

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Tyre puncture bugged Kimi

Portugal is the first rally on gravel for Kimi Räikkönen's new Citroen. The start was sticky and just as Räikkönen started to find a better rhythm the tyre emptied all of a sudden without hitting anything.

– The air just disappeared and suddenly we noticed that there went our tyre. We had 11 km of the stage left. We drove the rest of the stage with the wheel and lost 1,40 minutes. If you have over 15 km to the finish of the stage, then it's worthwhile to stop and change the tyre, Lindström told.

– It was a bad thing when the tyre went. I improved my driving in the afternoon but during service break we took the wrong direction with setups. I had no grip, Räikkönen said.

– Of course it was seen during the first stage that it was a race on gravel. It was sticky but we got a hang of it around the final phase of the stage, Lindström said.

The team's mecanics had some overtime work when everything is changed so that they get the setups to hit better.

– It felt surprisingly hard although it shouldn't have felt that way. We will change the whole suspension just in case, if there is some problem with it, Lindström said.

Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole

Q&A: Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Räikkönen is on course for his second world championship points of 2011 after completing day two of Vodafone Rally de Portugal in seventh place overall

Wrc.com caught up with the Ice 1 Racing star and discovered why the former Formula One world champion feels more at home in the new-generation Citroen DS3 WRC.

You weren’t so happy with the handling of your car yesterday. What was the problem?
“There were some issues with the ride height of the car. It was driving wrong, not how I liked and it was a bit tricky yesterday. But at least today it has been okay and has done what I wanted it to do.”

Now that you’re happy with your car have you been able to up your pace?
“I’m just driving at my own pace, not taking any risks. I know I can improve [my speed] but I don’t want to do anything stupid.”

It’s your second year in the world championship. What are your main objectives for 2011?
“I am trying to improve all of the time and learn more and more to go fast more often. It’s more or less the same story as last year but of course we have more experience so it’s a bit more easy.”

How different is your Citroen DS3 to the C4 WRC you drove last season?
“It’s not so much different. Okay this is the first time for us on the gravel with this car after we did not go to Mexico. The car is smaller and has a normal gearbox but it doesn’t really change anything overall.”

Are there any aspects of the DS3 you particularly like?
“It’s more like what I did before with the Super 2000 car I drove [in 2009]. The gearshift is in a different place - it’s not the paddleshift - but it’s not a problem. It doesn’t make a lot of difference. When I started the rally in my FIAT it was like this so it is normal.”

What are your thoughts on the Portuguese stages?
“The country is nice but the stages are pretty tricky. It’s one of the most difficult rallies and you have to have really good pace notes. Today has been tricky but the roads are still nice. It’s more slippery today and also more difficult.”

And finally Kimi, how has day two been for you?
“We were behind a car on stage 11 for eight kilometres in the dust. This was not good but it was okay, no big issues today.”

Source: WRC

Video: Kimi Räikkönen Interview at Rally de Portugal 2011

Source: WRC

The indicators of Räikkönen's development

Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström left out Mexico. The new ICE1Racing team will now take part in its second rally in the World Rally Championship.

Many drivers in the top ten had problems in Mexico. If Räikkönen had been able to produce the same faultless performance as in the opening round of the World Rally Championship in Sweden, the final result would have surely been good.

- Admittedly, there could have been a good result there. Although there is a bit of a handicap because Portugal is our first gravel rally, while the others have had experience with the new cars in Mexico, his co-driver Lindström says.

Räikkönen made his Portugal debut a year ago and finished tenth. Räikkönen was much more competitive on his second attempt in Sweden. Does Lindström believe that this will also be the case in Portugal?

- I do not want to think too far in advance, but it is clear that progress has been made, and I do not think that in Kimi's case it will go backward in this rally. We drove one test day last week in France, we got a better setup and the driver goes to the car with a good feeling when it feels better in your hands, Lindström summarized.

Source: TS.fi
Courtesy: sleenster

WRC Onboards 2010: Portugal: Räikkönen SS01 Requested by iEatRadios

Source: WRC

Kimi Portugal Rally Review

One Point and lots of happening

It was exactly how we expected it would be: The Rally de Portugal was as tricky as the Rally of Jordan.We got the right information. I guess, these two are the most difficult rallies in the calender.

We finished the rally in Jordan and we managed to finish the in the rally in Portugal as well. Now we got some points from three sucessive races. It's ok result, but, obviously, it could have e little bit better in Portugal.

We had P8 in our hands, but we then had few problems, lost a lot of time and finally we were happy to finish the rally in sunday. Tha puncture on sunday morning was an annoying experience, but shit happens. It's a part of motor racing and it happens to all for us sometimes.

Right in the beginning we lost time, while we went out of the road and had push the car back using the reserve. Then on Sunday morning the feeling in the car was better and better, I cut a corner too fast and we had a big moment on two wheels, Well, we were lucky. I didn't roll over and it came back. After that it was a just question to bring car home.

It was like in every rally that the surface changes radically, while you do the stage for a second time. Obviously, it was very difficult route all the way long and the changes, they were even bigger compared to other places.

The gap to the top guys is huge, but there is nothing surprising in that. We have know since the very beginning of this season, that the front runners are very, very quick. You have to have a lot confidence in your car and a lot kilometres in rally to match with them.

Now there is a new winner in WRC rally. Ogier is a really strong rally driver and deserved his first victory after coming so close already in New Zealand. Obviously, I remember well how nice feeling I've got after winning my first Formula One Grand Prix in Malaysia back in 2003. It's always a special thing for a racing driver.

Now we head for the Lanterna Rally in Italy. We got an opportunity to have some training on tarmac before the next WRC rally in Bulgaria in july.

After that I will keenly watch the football world cup and some other sports, while we have some weeks to chill out.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM

WRC RALLY PORTUGAL 2010 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN OFFICIAL WEB SITE

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM

Räikkönen scores again in Portugal

F1 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen returns to WRC action in Portugal and once again puts his Citroen C4 WRC in the points

Former Ferrari and McLaren F1 man Kimi Raikkonen came through to score points for the third event in succession on Sunday in Portugal, despite a pretty scary moment in the final loop.

Raikkonen, who of course only started rallying last year and who missed the last round of the World Rally Championship in New Zealand, ran in the top-ten throughout in his Citroen Junior Team-run C4 WRC, setting top ten stage times in twelve of the eighteen tests.

Heading into the final loop he was up to eighth, however, the repeat run through the 21.28 kilometre Felizes test almost proved his undoing, and when he hit something and picked up a puncture, he slipped back down to tenth.

Despite losing two places though, the F1 2007 world champion was still happy to get to the end and he finished on a high by setting the third best time in the short 2.03 km Estádio Algarve super special.

"It's been a really tough weekend, but this is all part of the learning process," said Raikkonen. "The other drivers have been here for the past three years so it's hard to be on their pace. My only objective though was to finish the rally and gain more experience, so we have fulfilled our goal here.

"The last day was particularly difficult, as the handling of the car did not feel right, so we decided to play it safe. Then we hit something on the side of the road just after the start of the first stage in the afternoon. We cut a corner and the car went onto two wheels. We risked rolling, but the car landed back on its wheels and we picked up a puncture.

"After that, I just wanted to be sure of making the finish. There was nothing more to gain apart from another points finish. Overall I've really enjoyed the experience of driving here: this was actually the first time I have ever been to Portugal and it is a really nice country, with very friendly people."

Raikkonen's co-driver Kaj Lindstrom meanwhile was again impressed with the ex-F1 star. He also added that they are continuing to refine and improve their pace notes.

"Like everything else, they are getting better all the time," Lindstrom explained. "We changed a couple of things and increased our experience in a few vital areas. With changing levels of grip and so many blind corners, it's really not been easy for Kimi but he's kept his cool throughout the rally and made a lot of progress. I've been really impressed with both his driving and his attitude."

Raikkonen now heads to Austria where he will take on Polish bike star Taddy Blazusiak on the fearsome Erzberg hillclimb course. Blazusiak will be on his trials bike whereas the 'ice-man' will be racing in the Red Bull-liveried Citroen C4 WRC car.

Source: Crash.net
Courtesy: MomoD

Kimi Räikkönen Driver Blog from Rally Portugal

Go behind the scenes of the World Rally Championship with Kimi Räikkönen’s postcard from the Rally de Portugal...

Writing this from Portugal is a bit of a new experience for me, particularly as I have never even been to Portugal before! It’s a nice country, but I have to say that the stages are really tricky.

I expected this rally to be quite difficult from the start, but maybe not this difficult. I’ve been back in the car for the first time in over a month, and although I had a day of testing in France, that’s hardly the same as being in competition in Portugal.

The most difficult thing? Actually there are lots of tricky things. First of all, everyone has a lot more experience than me. All the other guys have seen these stages for the last three years but this is still only my seventh-ever WRC rally.

Then there are the stages themselves. The rally is on gravel and I’m finding the grip really inconsistent. There are also a few other things catching me out.

For example, you often have corners that are right on the top of some crests and this makes it really difficult to get the braking and the line right. I can tell you this now: rallying is a lot harder than Formula One, but as always it just depends on what you’re used to.

The engineers sometimes talk to the drivers over the radio in Formula One, but this is something that I never really liked: I preferred just to get on and drive the car. So imagine what it’s like now, when I have a co-driver telling me what to do all the time! Getting the pace notes right is an important part of rallying and I think we have some way to go before we have completely got on top of that.

So, it’s really not easy. But I’m definitely enjoying myself. For a start, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and a lot less political than it was in Formula One. I’ve been made to feel very welcome; there are nice people here. There’s no pressure either: I’m just learning something different at my own pace.

I like Portugal too. When you are in a rally car you get to see some of the country you are in: it’s not like Formula One where all you see is the airport, the hotel and the circuit.

We’re staying in a hotel in Vilamoura: quite a nice tourist place that has a little port and some restaurants and bars. Although the days on a rally are very long, over the course of the year you get more time to yourself and I am really enjoying that.

Portuguese people seem to love motor sport: in fact any sport! The service park for the rally is in the Estadio Algarve: a stadium just outside of Faro. I’ve forgotten the name of the team that plays there, but somebody told me that they weren’t very good. Just goes to show, life is tough when you’re a top sportsman…

Kimi Räikkönen

Source: Red Bull - RallyBuzz

Rally de Portugal 2010: SS18 Estadio Algarve 2

Ogier does it!

Frenchman Sebastien Ogier sealed victory on Rally de Portugal at the Algarve Stadium super special, collecting his maiden rally win at World Championship level and underlining his position as one of the sport's hottest properties.

The 26-year-old Citroen Junior Team driver held his own in a thrilling final day scrap with six-time World Champion - and fellow C4 WRC driver - Sebastien Loeb, which concluded on the all-tarmac head-to-head stage.

Loeb, the 2010 championship leader, finished the rally second, 7.9 seconds behind Ogier, while his Citroen Total team-mate Dani Sordo was third, 1min 10sec further back, to complete an all-Citroen podium.

After his shock last stage retirement from Rally New Zealand earlier this month, Petter Solberg had another eleventh hour disaster in Portugal. The Norwegian was fourth in his privately entered C4 WRC but lost the position after driving into a barrier on the Super Special.

Ford Focus RS WRC driver Hirvonen moved ahead into fourth, 14.4sec adrift of Sordo, with Solberg rounding off the top five 3.7sec further back.

Stage Times:

Source: WRC

Rally de Portugal 2010: SS17 Loule 2

Ogier leads with just the Super Special to go...

Having fought off Sebastien Loeb's challenge through the final gravel stage of Rally de Portugal, just 2km of tarmac stands between Sebastien Ogier and his maiden WRC victory.

Loeb was fastest through SS17 but was only 1.8sec quicker than his Junior team rival, giving Ogier a 7.7sec advantage for the head-to-head Algarve Super Special.

Dani Sordo holds the upper hand in the fight for the final podium place but Petter Solberg (+4.6sec) and Mikko Hirvonen (+8.4sec) are right behind and ready to pounce should he make a mistake.

Stage Times:

Source: WRC

Rally de Portugal 2010: SS16 Felizes 2

Flat out Sebastiens neck and neck

Rally Portugal leader Sebastien Ogier overcame a near-stall on the start line of SS16 to defend his position from Sebastien Loeb once again. And after claiming he had more speed in reserve on the morning pass, the Citroen Junior team driver admitted he was pushing himself and his tyres to the limit on the repeat.

The swept Felizes stage was more abrasive than it had been earlier and this, combined with a higher ambient temperature, made tyre wear a crucial consideration. Loeb was the stage winner, finishing six-tenths ahead of Ogier, but felt he had worn his Pirellis more than his rival.

Asked about his chances of catching Ogier, Loeb said: "I'm not giving up, but it's getting more and more difficult." Heading to the final gravel stage of the rally, Ogier's lead stands at 9.5sec.

Dani Sordo held on to third place and extended his advantage over Petter Solberg a little to 5.4sec. Mikko Hirvonen, meanwhile, edged closer to Petter and will start SS17 trailing by just two seconds.

Stage Times:

Source: WRC

Rally de Portugal 2010: SS15 Loule 1

Ogier clings on at Sunday's midpoint

Sebastien Ogier rounded off Sunday morning's loop of stages with his Rally de Portugal lead slimmed but intact. With only two more gravel stages and the Super special to go, Ogier has a 10.1sec over the hard charging Sebastien Loeb.

Loeb was the fastest driver through SS15, completing the stage 4.8sec quicker than Ogier and admitting to pushing to the maximum. Ogier, however, claimed he still had something in reserve.

Petter Solberg lost more time because of his car's damaged steering rack and slipped behind Dani Sordo into fourth place. Mikko Hirvonen, the leading Ford driver, rounded off the morning loop in fifth, only 6.5sec behind Petter.

Stobart Ford team driver Henning Solberg retired 16km into the stage because of a broken fan belt. The Norwegian had been sixth.

Stage Times:

Source: WRC

Rally de Portugal 2010: SS14 Felizes 1

Sebastien vs Sebastien: it's game on!

Sebastien Loeb took more than six seconds from Sebastien Ogier's lead of Rally de Portugal on Sunday's opener as the defending world champion began a final push for victory.

Loeb, the winner of the rally in 2007 and 2009, reduced the gap on his Citroen stable-mate from 21.1sec to 14.9sec over the 21 kilometre Felizes test.

Behind the lead pair, the battle for third hotted up too as Petter Solberg dropped time with steering rack problem. Fourth placed Dani Sordo began the stage 13.5sec behind the Norwegian but was only 2.2sec adrift at the finish.

Mikko Hirvonen also closed in on the final podium position. Despite being hampered by dust in the cockpit of his Ford Focus, the Finn slimmed the gap to Sordo ahead from 8.2sec to 5.7sec.

Stage Times:



Source: WRC

RÄIKKÖNEN CONTINUES THE LEARNING CURVE IN PORTUGAL

Red Bull Rally de Portugal day two report

It takes up to 50 years for a vintage Port wine to mature to its full complexity, and the greatest Port vintage of this century is reckoned by experts to date from 1927, with several cases still in existence.

The moral of the story? It takes time to get the best out of what Portugal has to offer. The Port-maker's art cannot be learned overnight and neither can the stages of Rally Portugal.

Red Bull driver Kimi Raikkonen has got to the end of a tough second day in ninth place, after having to cope with some of the toughest roads he has seen so far on his debut year of the World Rally Championship.

With the Rally de Portugal forming part of the series for the past three seasons, Kimi's rivals have effectively got a three-year head start on the iceman: who is competing on only his seventh WRC rally.

Despite this huge handicap, he worked hard on his pace notes, steered clear of trouble, and brought his Red Bull-liveried Citroen safely back to the service park near Faro.
While the car was serviced Kimi ate his dinner - but there will be no vintage Port to enjoy with it until the rally finishes tomorrow.

"It's been a really tough day," said the Finn. "It's not easy at all to get used to these stages, particularly after a month out of the car. Every single gravel rally we have done so far has been very different, so as soon as you get used to one surface, you are suddenly presented with something else totally different. That's what makes rallying so interesting but of course when you are starting out it's a hard sport to learn. When you are racing, one circuit is quite like another. But rally is an even bigger challenge. I've had a lot of fun and we are on course for our target to finish in the points. The stages today were definitely tougher than the ones yesterday, and it's going to be another hard day tomorrow as well. But these experiences really help us to learn, so it's good."

Kimi's co-driver Kaj Lindstrom has also been pleased with the progress that the duo have made, particularly when it comes to working on the pace notes. "These stages have been quite complicated in terms of pace notes, but our system is really beginning to work well now," he said. "For Kimi, this has been a big thing to get used to and I'm very impressed by the way that he is taking everything on board. Nothing seems to bother him: he is learning all the time and on every rally we make more progress."

A final fascinating fact about Port, which is traditionally made in Oporto: the venue for the pre-rally road show last Sunday. It is the third-oldest defined and protected wine region in the world, having been designated as an appellation in 1756. The oldest is Chianti in Italy (1716) followed by Tokaj in Hungary (1730).

Source: RallyBuzz

Kimi Räikkönen makes best of tricky Portugal

By Charlie Contadeli

Former Grand Prix champion Kimi Raikkonen has coped well in Portugal against rivals who have a three-year head start on him, according to his co-driver Kaj Lindstrom.

“This was always going to be a difficult rally for Kimi, because everyone else has been here three times already but for him it’s completely new,” said the Finn. “Under the circumstances, he’s done very well.”

Raikkonen, who ran towards the bottom of the top 10 from the start of the event, admitted that he found it difficult to master the complex Portuguese stages. “It’s one of the most tricky rallies I have faced so far,” he said. “What I really enjoy is the quick stages, with a flow to them, rather than these more technical stages. And after more than a month out of the car, it’s not easy.”

This will be the Finn’s last gravel rally for a while, as he will contest the Rally della Lanterna in Italy in two weeks time, prior to the Rally Bulgaria at the beginning of July.

“I’ve not driven the car on asphalt yet, but I think it could feel a bit more normal for me,” added Raikkonen. “On the gravel events, every rally has been different.”

The Rally della Lanterna, based in Genoa, will be a tough test for Raikkonen. The narrow asphalt stages are reminiscent of the Sanremo Rally, with several bumps and surface changes.

Source: MaxRally

Rally de Portugal 2010: SS13 S. Bras de Alportel 2

Ogier rounds off day two with 21 second lead

Sebastien Ogier wrapped up a successful Saturday in Portugal by setting the second fastest time in the repeated S. Bras de Alpotel section - enough to give him a 21.1sec advantage ahead of Sunday's final day of the rally.

Sebastien Loeb was the stage winner on SS13, completing the 16.72km test two seconds quicker than Ogier.

Petter Solberg, also driving a Citroen C4 WRC, was fourth fastest to secure third in Saturday's overnight standings, 31.1sec behind Loeb.

Stage Times:

Source: WRC