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Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rally of Turkey. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rally of Turkey. Tampilkan semua postingan

Minggu, 25 April 2010

Raikkonen "knew that it would be difficult"

Kimi Raikkonen scored his first WRC points in Jordan and Turkey. The Finn knows he's progressing but remains aware of the gap separating him from the best

Kimi Räikkönen, in his fourth rally with the Citroen Junior Team, during last weekend in Turkey, made his first top 5. A beautiful performance for the F1 World Champion 2007, pleased to see his progress race after race. "I'm getting better everywhere," he acknowledges to AUTOhebdo this week. "You know very well what are the steps! Everything happens at once. Little by little, everything seems both better and easier. "

However, the Finn knows he still lacks the level of attack that his car provides him. To progress, Kimi Raikkonen has decided not to take risks, a strategy that allowed him to score his first points. "What counts is to accumulate kilometres, to be at the finish line. The points are the consequence. Their number depends on the race events that affected the best drivers. In Jordan, I found the specials so difficult that I have never taken risks. My points were due to simply being at the finish. In Turkey, it was not quite the same thing. I simply tried to drive. Then I was able to regularly take on Villagra and Wilson. This is not the "top" yet, but it's some satisfaction."

However, the Finn faced severe difficulties, as in the Rally of Jordan, where the complexity of the surface forced him to go at a modest pace."Jordan, I found it horrible. The roads are blind, and tortuous. I felt lost. I really wanted to be at the finish and for this to happen, I had no other choice but to be slow. "

Kimi Raikkonen thus learns step by step, in a discipline that he discover with every kilometre. "I knew it would be difficult. It's not worse than what I expected. Except in Jordan. There, I really suffered." But, as he remains lucid, the Finn is nonetheless ambitious. "I know the depth of the gap that separates me from the top. I know that I have just succeeded in getting intermediate lap times comparably to theirs. All I have left is to multiply these moments. I'm progressing, but fifth, six minutes behind, it's not what I want. "


Source: Autohebdo.fr
Translation from French: Fran

WRC Rally of Turkey 2010: Ukraine First Automotive TV channel

Source: YouTube

Kamis, 22 April 2010

RTL Klub Fókusz - Exclusive from Rally of Turkey 2010

Source: YouTube

RALLYING KEEPS KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN BUSY NOW

Iltalehti 17.4.2010
1. Kimi Räikkönen, does rally taste like men's business after three WRC-rallies?
- Of course it tastes. It's really difficult and I still have a lot to learn.

2. Has driving a rally-car already given you big feelings? Can it even be compared to sex?
- Haha, it has nothing to do with that. It is a really difficult and interesting genre though.

3. Did your fist WRC-points in Jordan create screams of joy?
- Not really. Jordan was the most difficult race I have ever experienced in motorsport. And it wasn't exactly any speedy spectacle.

4. How important would it be for you to get on the podium?
- It's one goal. Of course it doesn't happen other than driving a lot but it's like that in every genre - you have to practise. You can't come into rally to just hang around.

5. Have the mistakes you had in the beginning of the season come from overtrying?
- In Sweden yes but in Mexico we lost our spoiler from the rear just before we rolled. I have rolled cars before too so I didn't have time to get scared. There were no mistakes in noting but I have to improve my listening.

6. Are you still shy to use the gas pedal when circumstances are so new and strange?
- Sometimes I get shy if the note is complete and I have a blind hill ahead of me. I have no problems as long as I see the road. I'll get more confidence through experience.

7. What things have changed from the time you started your F1-career at 20 years?
- Of course many things have changed in life and the genre has changed too but mainly my life is about the same as it was back then. I still do the same things.

9. When is it time to start a family?
- Now is not the best time because I'm still so busy. But of course the time of kids come someday.

Source: Iltalehti
Courtesy:Nicole

Selasa, 20 April 2010

Kimi Räikkönen Changing Tyres at Rally of Turkey 2010

Source: Youtube

Kimi's Turkish Rally review: Simply The Best Rally

There is no reason to jump in the air with joy, but, obviously, this is the best feeling I have had since starting my new career in WRC. We got a nice ten points from the Turkish weekend. The whole team was very happy with the job we managed to do.

Well, once again we proved that our simple target - finish, finish, finish – suits us fine. When we managed to finish the rally, we are also able to get a good result.

In some stages it was mainly the question to go very cautiously. Especially in the last stage it was very tricky to find the right speed. It was slippery like on ice. I pushed and Kaj did the braking on me. Once again it was working well and we kept the car on the road until the very finish. Fifth place in the Turkish Rally was more than we could have hoped before going for it.

It was a difficult rally, as I said. Even the big boys made mistakes. Mikko Hirvonen hit the stone, while he started to push harder and some top guys had even more costly errors.

Obviously, the TOP-5 are in a league of their own. But we were the best in the second division. I was the center forward of the second line-up, if you want to describe it with ice hockey terms.

It’s no use to make a big deal of it. I just enjoy this moment. The next rally will be totally different and a new challenge for us all.

The Turkish Rally is absolutely the best rally I’ve done during my short WRC career. No doubt about it.

It was a new place for every driver. Nobody knew the roads before and as a WRC rookie, I’ve got a certain advantage in comparison to the top guys, while none of them hadn’t done the roads 5-10 times before.

Now there is no need to think of, what is the gap to the top we have, while going to a place where nobody has raced before. That’s something we know better after the this weekend and that gives us more confidence going to other new places – like Bulgaria on July.

All the time I have better feeling also with the car. It’s getting better and better every time and it feels also easier to drive. This time we had some stages on tarmac, too. Well, it was still early days to try to get used to the grip levels and we used the gravel tyres and gravel set-up, too. So it’s useless to get too involved in details at this stage.

Now we have a break, because I’m not going to New Zealand. But it’s not a holiday time. I have some work to do. Hopefully we get the cars back to the factory as soon as possible. I’ll be starting to focus on my next rally in Portugal with some testing before.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM

Senin, 19 April 2010

Minggu, 18 April 2010

Kimi Räikkönen Interview After Day 3 in Rally of Turkey 2010

Source: YouTube

A fast journey home crowned Kimi's rally

Turun Sanomat 18.4 2010

Kimi Räikkönen has taken ten WC-points when winning a F1-grand prix. From Turkey Rally Kimi also took ten WC-points when bringing his Citroen C4 WRC-car 5th to the finish.

A indisputable progress and flawless performance raised these ten points to the level of a winning-atmosphere.

Citroen Junior Team's boss Benoit Nogier thanked Räikkönen's performance and speed of progress.

- Kimi is going forward with speed. Now he has succeeded to run away from those drivers with whom he still faught at the beginning of this race. This is very encouraging progress from Kimi as a rally-driver, Nogier praises.

Räikkönen's good weekend was fulfilled when the flight back home was organised on Sunday-evening on a private jet from Istanbul to Nizza, from where he drives back home to Switzerland.

Speed of progress in order

Co-driver Kaj Lindtröm was once again pleased when the star-student is improving race by race at least according to the most demanding exceptations.

- Of course this kind of result is good when Kimi doesn't have much of experience in rally. It wasn't flawless, but almost. On a few stages the engine stalled at the same intersection , but that was it.

The Turkey Rally, which was taken to a new route, gave Räikkönen and Lindström also a good situational review.

- At this point of Kimi's career-development one don't have to wonder anymore what is the difference to the top when the rally-route is unfamiliar to everyone. I didn't yet calculate the different stages but it probably lies around 1 second, Lindström said.

A part of the routes was driven on tarmac, which was the third element where Räikkönen is driving for the first time on a WRC-car.

- I was probably too careful on tarmac until I realized how much grip there were. I'm pretty satisfied with my pace, Räikkönen said.

According to Lindström experience can't be called tarmac-driving.

- We drove on gravel settings and gravel tires. It is a totally different thing when we drive the first actual tarmac-rally in July in Bulgary, he reminded.

Naturally Räikkönen's end result was maximized by the set-backs experienced by the two drivers who belong to the top 6, Dani Sordo and Jari-Matti Latvala.

- Of course others' unfortune helped but it belongs to the spirit of motorsport, Räikkönen reminded.

Braking on the last stage

Sunday's ending stage was according to Räikkönen the most difficult of the weekend. There Lindström had to brake [slow] the driver, so they stayed on the road.

- The last stage was more than slippery and very difficult. It had to be taken carefully so that the race wouldn't get a bad ending, Räikkönen explained.

There is a one week pause ahead. Räikkönen won't participate in New Zealand WRC-rally and will drive next in Portugal at the end of May.

Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Leijona

Travel chaos hits WRC's teams and drivers

The World Rally Championship’s top drivers and teams are still hopeful of returning home from Rally of Turkey by the middle of next week despite the travel chaos across Europe caused by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland intensifying.

Leading teams spent the closing stages of the event trying to finalise travel arrangements for their drivers and personnel as part of what is proving to be a huge logistical operation, which is being complicated by limited air travel options and restrictions taking vehicles out of Turkey by road.

Citroen Racing director Olivier Quesnel said his mechanics and engineers will return to France in two separate coaches leaving on Sunday night and Monday morning. Ford is also arranging busses to get its team, which has more than 100 members, back to the UK. They are due to set off from Istanbul on Monday evening.

Sebastien Loeb is hoping the private jet he has chartered will still be able to fly to Italy, where he is planning to complete his journey to his home in Switzerland by road.

Mikko Hirvonen said he was investigating hiring a minibus to drive him, co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen and his support team back to Finland.

Ken Block’s return trip to the USA, where he is taking part in the launch of his Gymkhana driving event on Tuesday, will take him from Istanbul to Dubai, then onto Seoul and San Francisco.

Aaron Burkart, who won the Junior World Rally Championship section of Rally of Turkey, was contemplating driving his recce car to his native Germany.

Pirelli, the world championship’s exclusive tyre supplier, is planning to get its 20 staff and equipment back to Milan via a flight to Athens and then a ferry from Greece to Italy.

Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: Kriss

KIMI OVERCOMES (ALMOST) EVERYTHING IN TURKEY

Kimi Raikkonen enjoyed a fantastic Rally of Turkey, finishing fifth overall to add more points to his rally total and score his best ever result in a rally car. But while Kimi's reactions and car control are awesome, there are some things that even a former Grand Prix champion cannot control - such as erupting volcanoes

"No, I've no idea how I'm getting back. But I did finish fifth in Turkey. Next?"

More than 500 people from the different world rally teams have been left stranded in Turkey - and Kimi and Kaj are two of them. Kimi's solution will probably consist of flying to somewhere in Italy and then embarking on a long car journey back to his home in Switzerland.

Kimi's Citroen Junior Team will head back to their base in Paris on a fleet of buses, while other people are looking at solutions involving boats and trains. Ironically, the rally's base in Istanbul was the traditional terminus of the Orient Express, the luxury train service that used to link France's capital with Turkey.

The world of rallying may not always be glamorous, but Kimi is thoroughly enjoying it after a fault-free Rally of Turkey in which he showed that he is a quick learner. On only his ninth-ever rally, the Iceman beat several drivers with far more experience and set stage times that were never out of the top 10 - and often in the top six.

"I'm really pleased with the way it's gone," said Kimi. "There was nothing particularly special; we just paid good attention to the pace notes and made sure that we made no mistakes. The stages were really tough, particularly on the last day when it was very muddy: it felt like driving on ice. I'm learning all the time and that's a really nice feeling: a bit like my early days of circuit racing. I'm very happy, although I have no idea exactly how we are getting home tonight. It really doesn't matter; I'm sure we'll find a way..."

Kaj Lindstrom was also reminded of his earlier days in rallying. "It's been really nice to be involved in a new project from the very beginning, and to help a driver develop in rallying," he said. "The fact that it is with Kimi and Red Bull just makes it all the more special for me. I have to say that he has been really impressive on this event: you would never guess that he has so little experience in a rally car. I know that we can build on this progress now."

The next event for Kimi and Kaj in the Red Bull Citroen will be the Rally of Portugal from May 28-30, but before then they are hoping to do some testing in order to increase their experience.

Source: Rally Buzz

Räikkönen defies flight ban – takes a private plane to Switzerland

Kimi Räikkönen, who raced in the Rally of Turkey during the weekend, is planning to return to his Swiss home with a private plane possibly already today.

Räikkönen, who snatched fifth position in the race, is planning to fly from Istanbul to Switzerland tomorrow at the latest. Räikkönen plans to use smaller airports where the flight ban is not in effect.

At this point the Swiss airspace is closed until Monday 3 pm Finnish time.

The plans for the trip home are not as simple for the other drivers. Mikko Hirvonen, who took third place in the rally, is going to first take the Ford factory team bus to Middle Europe, then buy a used Ford and drive home to Finland.

Source: MTV3
Courtesy of Dracaena at F1zone.net

Rally of Turkey 2010: SS23 Ballica 2

Stage Times:

1.S. OGIER 9:51.0
2.J. LATVALA 9:59.
3 +8.3 3.S. LOEB 10:00.9 +1.6
4.P. SOLBERG 10:03.8 +2.9
5. M. HIRVONEN 10:08.5 +4.7
6.K. BLOCK 10:12.0 +3.5
7.K. RAIKKONEN 10:18.3 +6.3
8.F. VILLAGRA 10:20.8 +2.5
9.M. WILSON 10:21.1 +0.3
10.B. ÇUKUROVA 10:51.8 +30.7

Source: WRC

Rally of Turkey 2010: SS22 Mudarli 2

Stage Times:

1.S. LOEB 12:35.0
2.S. OGIER 12:51.3 +16.3
3.J. LATVALA 12:52.4 +1.1
4. P. SOLBERG 12:57.7 +5.3
5.M. HIRVONEN 13:00.2 +2.5
6. K. BLOCK 13:11.6 +11.4
7. M. WILSON 13:19.6 +8.0
8.K. RAIKKONEN 13:22.6 +3.0
9.F. VILLAGRA 13:26.4 +3.8
10.B. ÇUKUROVA 14:02.0 +35.6

Source: WRC

Rally of Turkey 2010: Onboard with Kimi Räikkönen SS12

Source: WRC

Rally of Turkey 2010: SS21 Deniz 2

Stage Times:

1.S. LOEB 9:48.8
2. M. HIRVONEN 9:53.8 +5.0
3.J. LATVALA 9:57.9 +4.1
4. P. SOLBERG 10:01.2 +3.3
5.S. OGIER 10:06.7 +5.5
6.H. SOLBERG 10:19.9 +13.2
7.K. BLOCK 10:24.7 +4.8
8. K. RAIKKONEN 10:28.1 +3.4
9.M. WILSON 10:32.4 +4.3
10.F. VILLAGRA 10:55.0 +22.6

Source: WRC

Kimi: I was sliding a bit in a few points

Kimi Räikkönen continued his impressive run in the Turkish WRC rally

Kimi Räikkönen is firmly attached to the sixth position of the Rally of Turkey. Federico Villagra, who is driving in seventh position, is 32 seconds away and Sebastien Ogier is ahead by well over a minute.

-Well yeah, it went okay. We improved a bit again from the morning. That's the main thing. It's difficult to make comparisons to other people when you don't know what you're comparing. There's no point in comparing ourselves to the top drivers yet, said Räikkönen at the end of the day shivering in the chilly Istanbul weather.

In Turkey Räikkönen has been able to try rallying on asphalt for the first time. The surface is familiar to Räikkönen from F1.

-It's not proper asphalt driving with those tyres. It was also a bit wet on the penultimate stage. It was damn slippery. We came pretty calmly. I was sliding a bit in a few points.

If Räikkönen makes it to the finish line in one piece and keeps his sixth position he will collect eight championship points.

-We'll try to keep the position. A lot can still happen. Let's see what we can do.

Six more spacial stages will be driven on Sunday.

Source: Iltalehti.fi
Courtesy: Dracaena