Source: MTV3 - Courtesy: _TaniaS_
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rallye Deutschland. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rallye Deutschland. Tampilkan semua postingan
Senin, 23 Agustus 2010
The boss is praising Kimi's heroic deed: A real spirit-lifter!
Kimi Räikkönen put strongly his name in rally's history books on Sunday.
He set the fastest time on the last stage Circus Maximus.
- We are all pleased over Kimi's fastest stage time. It was a real spirit-lifter! Benoit Nogier said in Citroen's newsletter.
Räikkönen was pleased himself too.
- In general this was once again one more really positive experience. And winning the super stage was of course great too, Kimi commented.
Lindström believes that the duo is going into the right direction.
- We are on the right way here. We improve rally by rally but the hill we are climbing up is still very steep, he reminded.
He was especially happy over the notes that worked.
- The notes were really good. When thinking that we were here for the first time we can be really pleased. And winning a super stage is something that is worth celebrating!
Kalle Takala
Source: Ilta-Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole
[Video] Kimi Räikkönen Interview at ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2010
Source: motorstelevision - bigraikkonenfan5
Minggu, 22 Agustus 2010
CITROËN JUNIOR TEAM, ADAC RALLYE DEUTSCHLAND – DAY 3
At the end of a perfectly-controlled Rallye Deutschland, the Citroën Junior Team scores a podium for the first time on an asphalt FIA World Rally Championship event. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are third behind the two factory Citroën C4 WRCs. Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström finish seventh, having claimed their first fastest stage time in the WRC!
On the third and final day of the rally, there were 85.69 competitive kilometres on the menu. As the cars were getting underway, at 0615, some light rain fell on Trier. Nonetheless, the roads remained dry throughout the morning.
“We had to go quickly in order to keep Jari-Matti Latvala behind us,” reported Sébastien Ogier after the first two stages of the day. “With just a 16-second cushion, third place is far from won. We managed to slightly increase that gap though by following the split times.” Co-driver Julien Ingrassia added: “We still have plenty to do today. These are very tricky roads and there was a huge amount of pace notes to get through. We couldn’t relax for a single second on the stages!”
On the second loop, Sébastien Ogier reinforced his position to claim his very first asphalt podium at the finish and his fifth podium of the season. “This was an excellent result,” he concluded. “Our objective was to finish behind the two factory Citroën C4 WRCs and now we have achieved our goal. So this was a very positive way to finish. I’d like to thank the entire team for a brilliant job well done.
” Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström started the final day with a set-up that was a little too soft. “I overhot two junctions and we lost a lot of time,” recounted the Finn. The crew continued to push hard right up to the end, setting their first fastest stage time on the final Circus Maximus Trier stage (SS19).
“I’m disappointed at having made the mistake in the morning that cost us a place, ” said Räikkönen. “But I enjoyed the stages on Saturday and Sunday. We’re continuing to rack up experience and that’s very important.” Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: “We’ve got to the finish of a long and complicated rally with a very solid performance. Competing on their first Rallye Deutschland in a WRC machine, Sébastien and Julien are on the podium. At the start of the season we were just aiming for some podiums on gravel.
Our goals have already largely been achieved, with a podium on asphalt to add to our tally as well now. Sébastien and Julien did a great job, coping well with the pressure when they had to go and get past Latvala. Their performance came pretty close to perfection, I would say. Measuring it on his terms, Kimi did virtually just as well. His mistake this morning cost him a place, but we are all delighted with his fastest stage time, which is a real morale booster. Now we’re keen to get over to France, for the next asphalt rally that is going to be an unknown quantity for all the competitors.”
Source: RedBull Rallye
On the third and final day of the rally, there were 85.69 competitive kilometres on the menu. As the cars were getting underway, at 0615, some light rain fell on Trier. Nonetheless, the roads remained dry throughout the morning.“We had to go quickly in order to keep Jari-Matti Latvala behind us,” reported Sébastien Ogier after the first two stages of the day. “With just a 16-second cushion, third place is far from won. We managed to slightly increase that gap though by following the split times.” Co-driver Julien Ingrassia added: “We still have plenty to do today. These are very tricky roads and there was a huge amount of pace notes to get through. We couldn’t relax for a single second on the stages!”
On the second loop, Sébastien Ogier reinforced his position to claim his very first asphalt podium at the finish and his fifth podium of the season. “This was an excellent result,” he concluded. “Our objective was to finish behind the two factory Citroën C4 WRCs and now we have achieved our goal. So this was a very positive way to finish. I’d like to thank the entire team for a brilliant job well done.
” Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström started the final day with a set-up that was a little too soft. “I overhot two junctions and we lost a lot of time,” recounted the Finn. The crew continued to push hard right up to the end, setting their first fastest stage time on the final Circus Maximus Trier stage (SS19).
“I’m disappointed at having made the mistake in the morning that cost us a place, ” said Räikkönen. “But I enjoyed the stages on Saturday and Sunday. We’re continuing to rack up experience and that’s very important.” Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: “We’ve got to the finish of a long and complicated rally with a very solid performance. Competing on their first Rallye Deutschland in a WRC machine, Sébastien and Julien are on the podium. At the start of the season we were just aiming for some podiums on gravel.
Our goals have already largely been achieved, with a podium on asphalt to add to our tally as well now. Sébastien and Julien did a great job, coping well with the pressure when they had to go and get past Latvala. Their performance came pretty close to perfection, I would say. Measuring it on his terms, Kimi did virtually just as well. His mistake this morning cost him a place, but we are all delighted with his fastest stage time, which is a real morale booster. Now we’re keen to get over to France, for the next asphalt rally that is going to be an unknown quantity for all the competitors.”
Source: RedBull Rallye
RED BULL ON STAGE - WITH KIMI AS A WINNER...
Kimi Räikkönen Red Bull Rallye Deutschland day three report
After three tough days of the Rallye Deutschland, all the crews can sit back, relax, and enjoy a beer. Germany is the right place to do it: only the Czechs and the Irish drink more beer than the Germans.
Last year, the average German drank 115.8 litres of beer while the Finns, for example, could only manage 85 litres each. At the bottom of the list is India, whose inhabitants on average drink just 0.6 litres of beer over the course of one year.
If you look at average alcohol consumption, per head, all over the world though there is one clear winner - and that, surprisingly, is Luxembourg. Conveniently, the tiny state is located less than half an hour away from Trier, the home of the Rallye Deutschland, so everybody is assured of a good party tonight.
Kimi Raikkonen has plenty of other reasons to be cheerful, after claiming his first ever fastest stage time on the final stage of the rally. Kimi blasted through the 'Circus Maximus' superspecial stage faster than anyone else, in front of thousands of fans in Trier city centre. In the shadow of Roman remains where chariots once raced, Kimi showed that he is still king of the circuits.
Not only that but he enjoyed a solid run to seventh place and six points on only his second-ever WRC asphalt rally, having missed out on sixth by less than four seconds. Germany was no typical asphalt event either: the event contains three very different days, ranging from narrow and twisty vineyard roads to rough concrete tracks that were originally designed for testing tanks. Rather than getting a chance to consolidate his knowledge of all the different surfaces, "the Iceman" was constantly thrust from one new situation into the next. As usual though, he absorbed it with the coolness he has become famous for - despite having to contend with a dramatic lack of experience compared to all the other drivers.
For example, Sebastien Loeb has now won the Rallye Deutschland exactly the same number of times (eight) that Kimi has driven a Citroen C4 World Rally Car on a WRC event!
"It goes to show that experience is important," says Kimi. "But that's the objective for us this year: we want to build up the basic knowledge of how to be a rally driver. Some people might think it's easy to go from Formula One to an asphalt rally, but it's completely different: apart from maybe the superspecial stage, which is more like a racing track! The surfaces are changing all the time and that's one of the most difficult things to get used to, along with the pace notes and all the different corners. But generally it's been another very positive experience, and it was nice to win a stage as well."
Kimi's path wasn't entirely smooth: he had an overshoot this morning and found that the set-up wasn't perfect for his requirements. But the 2007 Formula One World Champion can be very pleased with his work at the end of the Rallye Deutschland as he avoided major mistakes and learnt several important lessons that will be crucial for the future.
Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom, who has been alongside Kimi since he made his rally debut last year, was also pleased by the progress that the duo made by improving their times consistently. "We are on the right road: with every rally we get better but we are climbing a very steep learning curve," he pointed out. "The pace notes we made here were really good: unfortunately we had a couple of small mistakes that cost us what would have been a comfortable sixth place, but it's just one of those things that comes with experience. For our first time here, we can definitely be happy - and we can also celebrate winning a stage."
So now the crew can take a well-earned beer. 'Prost!' as they say in Germany (and they don't mean the French racing driver)...
Source: RedBull Rallye
After three tough days of the Rallye Deutschland, all the crews can sit back, relax, and enjoy a beer. Germany is the right place to do it: only the Czechs and the Irish drink more beer than the Germans.Last year, the average German drank 115.8 litres of beer while the Finns, for example, could only manage 85 litres each. At the bottom of the list is India, whose inhabitants on average drink just 0.6 litres of beer over the course of one year.
If you look at average alcohol consumption, per head, all over the world though there is one clear winner - and that, surprisingly, is Luxembourg. Conveniently, the tiny state is located less than half an hour away from Trier, the home of the Rallye Deutschland, so everybody is assured of a good party tonight.
Kimi Raikkonen has plenty of other reasons to be cheerful, after claiming his first ever fastest stage time on the final stage of the rally. Kimi blasted through the 'Circus Maximus' superspecial stage faster than anyone else, in front of thousands of fans in Trier city centre. In the shadow of Roman remains where chariots once raced, Kimi showed that he is still king of the circuits.
Not only that but he enjoyed a solid run to seventh place and six points on only his second-ever WRC asphalt rally, having missed out on sixth by less than four seconds. Germany was no typical asphalt event either: the event contains three very different days, ranging from narrow and twisty vineyard roads to rough concrete tracks that were originally designed for testing tanks. Rather than getting a chance to consolidate his knowledge of all the different surfaces, "the Iceman" was constantly thrust from one new situation into the next. As usual though, he absorbed it with the coolness he has become famous for - despite having to contend with a dramatic lack of experience compared to all the other drivers.
For example, Sebastien Loeb has now won the Rallye Deutschland exactly the same number of times (eight) that Kimi has driven a Citroen C4 World Rally Car on a WRC event!
"It goes to show that experience is important," says Kimi. "But that's the objective for us this year: we want to build up the basic knowledge of how to be a rally driver. Some people might think it's easy to go from Formula One to an asphalt rally, but it's completely different: apart from maybe the superspecial stage, which is more like a racing track! The surfaces are changing all the time and that's one of the most difficult things to get used to, along with the pace notes and all the different corners. But generally it's been another very positive experience, and it was nice to win a stage as well."
Kimi's path wasn't entirely smooth: he had an overshoot this morning and found that the set-up wasn't perfect for his requirements. But the 2007 Formula One World Champion can be very pleased with his work at the end of the Rallye Deutschland as he avoided major mistakes and learnt several important lessons that will be crucial for the future.
Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom, who has been alongside Kimi since he made his rally debut last year, was also pleased by the progress that the duo made by improving their times consistently. "We are on the right road: with every rally we get better but we are climbing a very steep learning curve," he pointed out. "The pace notes we made here were really good: unfortunately we had a couple of small mistakes that cost us what would have been a comfortable sixth place, but it's just one of those things that comes with experience. For our first time here, we can definitely be happy - and we can also celebrate winning a stage."
So now the crew can take a well-earned beer. 'Prost!' as they say in Germany (and they don't mean the French racing driver)...
Source: RedBull Rallye
Kimi enjoying ‘tough’ challenge in Germany
It’s asphalt Jim, but not as he knows it. Kimi Räikkönen is competing on only his second-ever asphalt WRC rally for Red Bull this weekend, and it’s on the Rallye Deutschland.
Germany’s round of the World Rally Championship is like no other. All three days of the event have a completely different character, which is not surprising as the event is made up of three old national events rolled up into one World Championship rally.
Day one is tight and twisty, through the vineyards that flank the Mosel River. One slip and the drivers are suddenly into the scenery, making their own Riesling. Day two is held over the fearsome Baumholder military ranges, using concrete roads that were originally designed for testing tanks. Finally, day three on Sunday is quicker and more flowing: some say that it even comes close to approaching normality.
After the opening day, we caught up with Kimi to find out his take on Germany, asphalt roads and the country’s most famous product…
How was the opening day of the Rallye Deutschland?
Kimi Räikkönen: It wasn’t easy, but I always knew that Germany was going to be tough: for sure the most difficult one of all the asphalt rallies. I think that’s mostly because every day is so different, so instead of just learning one rally, you are basically learning three rallies. But it’s all useful to get experience and we’ve ended the first day eighth, which is not too bad.
What’s been the most difficult thing about the opening day?
KR: I think it’s been that we’re running really far down the order, eighth place, so we had to face a lot of really dirty roads, with stones and gravel where the cars in front had been cutting the corners. This means that you have a very slippery surface right in the braking zones, which doesn’t help to build up your confidence.
So it’s not like the asphalt that you get on a racing circuit?
KR: No, in some places it’s more like the asphalt that you get in a gravel trap…
Sebastien Loeb has won here ever since Germany became part of the World Rally Championship. What is his secret?
KR: I don’t know. If I knew, I’d be doing it myself! But I suppose he just knows the car and the roads very well. It’s more or less a home event for him. But his performance here is really impressive; I don’t think anyone can touch him…
So what’s the plan for the rest of the Rallye Deutschland?
KR: We’re going to basically carry on what we’ve been doing, but try to get a little quicker as well. I want to get to the point where we can increase our speed without taking any extra risks. So far we’ve not made any mistakes and it would be really good if we could get to the end in the same way. Maybe it’s not the most exciting way to drive a rally, but it’s what we need to do.
Have you tried Germany’s most famous products yet: beer and sausages?
KR: I’ve had the sausages. The beer can wait until after the rally. And I’m sure it will taste even better if we have something to celebrate…
Source: Red Bull
Germany’s round of the World Rally Championship is like no other. All three days of the event have a completely different character, which is not surprising as the event is made up of three old national events rolled up into one World Championship rally.Day one is tight and twisty, through the vineyards that flank the Mosel River. One slip and the drivers are suddenly into the scenery, making their own Riesling. Day two is held over the fearsome Baumholder military ranges, using concrete roads that were originally designed for testing tanks. Finally, day three on Sunday is quicker and more flowing: some say that it even comes close to approaching normality.
After the opening day, we caught up with Kimi to find out his take on Germany, asphalt roads and the country’s most famous product…
How was the opening day of the Rallye Deutschland?
Kimi Räikkönen: It wasn’t easy, but I always knew that Germany was going to be tough: for sure the most difficult one of all the asphalt rallies. I think that’s mostly because every day is so different, so instead of just learning one rally, you are basically learning three rallies. But it’s all useful to get experience and we’ve ended the first day eighth, which is not too bad.
What’s been the most difficult thing about the opening day?
KR: I think it’s been that we’re running really far down the order, eighth place, so we had to face a lot of really dirty roads, with stones and gravel where the cars in front had been cutting the corners. This means that you have a very slippery surface right in the braking zones, which doesn’t help to build up your confidence.
So it’s not like the asphalt that you get on a racing circuit?
KR: No, in some places it’s more like the asphalt that you get in a gravel trap…
Sebastien Loeb has won here ever since Germany became part of the World Rally Championship. What is his secret?
KR: I don’t know. If I knew, I’d be doing it myself! But I suppose he just knows the car and the roads very well. It’s more or less a home event for him. But his performance here is really impressive; I don’t think anyone can touch him…
So what’s the plan for the rest of the Rallye Deutschland?
KR: We’re going to basically carry on what we’ve been doing, but try to get a little quicker as well. I want to get to the point where we can increase our speed without taking any extra risks. So far we’ve not made any mistakes and it would be really good if we could get to the end in the same way. Maybe it’s not the most exciting way to drive a rally, but it’s what we need to do.
Have you tried Germany’s most famous products yet: beer and sausages?
KR: I’ve had the sausages. The beer can wait until after the rally. And I’m sure it will taste even better if we have something to celebrate…
Source: Red Bull
Sabtu, 21 Agustus 2010
CITROËN JUNIORS AT ADAC RALLYE DEUTSCHLAND - DAY 2
Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastien Ogier are making progress in Germany
By getting the better of his key rival, Sébastien Ogier is currently third after the second day ofRallye Deutschland, behind the two factory Citroën C4 WRCs of Sébastien Loeb et Dani Sordo.Kimi Räikkönen is also making progress in the overall classification by claiming sixth place ahead of the third and final day.
The long second day of the Rallye Deutschland got underway at 0630 when the first crews made their way out of parc fermé in Trier. Both the Citroën Junior Team drivers had one firm objective in mind: to attack in order to make up places in the overall classification.Sébastien Ogier faced a battle with Jari-Matti Latvala for the final podium place and the Frenchman claimed the advantage after the first run over Arena Panzerplatte: at 48 kilometres the longest stage in the World Rally Championship.
“We still need to try and make more progress,” said Ogier. “I sense that it’s hard to make up time, even though my feeling with the car is good. These kilometres are vital for our learning curve. We only have a small gap over Jari-Matti, so we can’t relax for a second.
”In the afternoon, with the temperature peaking at 31°C in the stages, Sébastien Ogier pulled out more of a gap to consolidate his third place. “We went for a slightly more aggressive pace to build up a bit of a margin over Jari-Matti,” he reported. “Now we need to keep on driving well to be sure of staying on the podium. Our advantage is only 16 seconds.”
”In St. Wendeler Land (ES8), Kimi Räikkönen overhauled Matthew Wilson to climb up to seventh. But a straight-on in the following stage meant that his good work was undone. “In SS9 I just braked a bit too late and went straight on,” recounted the Finn. “A few kilometres from the end we had a problem with the rear anti-roll bar. As we only had a remote service before Panzerplatte, we had to drive the long stage with the problem. I didn’t take any risks, but we didn’t lose much time either.”
Thanks to his experience from the morning, Kimi Räikkönen was able to get closer to the top times in the second loop, practically halving his time difference to the frontrunners. “I’m quite pleased with our day,” he said. “We were much closer to the pace than we were yesterday.
With some other drivers having retired, we are now sixth. So our aim is to hang onto this position until the end.” Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: “Sébastien Ogier has had exactly the sort of day that we could have hoped from him. He steadily gained ground on Jari-Matti, who was still setting good times.
We worked hard during the midday service halt to help Sébastien, by refining the car set-up to suit him more. In the afternoon he made full use of this to establish himself in third behind the two factory Citroëns, which are really on top of their game here. Kimi Räikkönen had very much the same approach in his battle with Matthew Wilson. He came off best to claim sixth place this evening.
This is an excellent position for him to be in on his first visit to Germany. This was the longest day of rallying of the year, thanks to a gruelling 187.58 competitive kilometres, and our C4s and their drivers faced up to the challenge well.”
Source: Red Bull Rallye
By getting the better of his key rival, Sébastien Ogier is currently third after the second day ofRallye Deutschland, behind the two factory Citroën C4 WRCs of Sébastien Loeb et Dani Sordo.Kimi Räikkönen is also making progress in the overall classification by claiming sixth place ahead of the third and final day.The long second day of the Rallye Deutschland got underway at 0630 when the first crews made their way out of parc fermé in Trier. Both the Citroën Junior Team drivers had one firm objective in mind: to attack in order to make up places in the overall classification.Sébastien Ogier faced a battle with Jari-Matti Latvala for the final podium place and the Frenchman claimed the advantage after the first run over Arena Panzerplatte: at 48 kilometres the longest stage in the World Rally Championship.
“We still need to try and make more progress,” said Ogier. “I sense that it’s hard to make up time, even though my feeling with the car is good. These kilometres are vital for our learning curve. We only have a small gap over Jari-Matti, so we can’t relax for a second.
”In the afternoon, with the temperature peaking at 31°C in the stages, Sébastien Ogier pulled out more of a gap to consolidate his third place. “We went for a slightly more aggressive pace to build up a bit of a margin over Jari-Matti,” he reported. “Now we need to keep on driving well to be sure of staying on the podium. Our advantage is only 16 seconds.”
”In St. Wendeler Land (ES8), Kimi Räikkönen overhauled Matthew Wilson to climb up to seventh. But a straight-on in the following stage meant that his good work was undone. “In SS9 I just braked a bit too late and went straight on,” recounted the Finn. “A few kilometres from the end we had a problem with the rear anti-roll bar. As we only had a remote service before Panzerplatte, we had to drive the long stage with the problem. I didn’t take any risks, but we didn’t lose much time either.”
Thanks to his experience from the morning, Kimi Räikkönen was able to get closer to the top times in the second loop, practically halving his time difference to the frontrunners. “I’m quite pleased with our day,” he said. “We were much closer to the pace than we were yesterday.
With some other drivers having retired, we are now sixth. So our aim is to hang onto this position until the end.” Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: “Sébastien Ogier has had exactly the sort of day that we could have hoped from him. He steadily gained ground on Jari-Matti, who was still setting good times.
We worked hard during the midday service halt to help Sébastien, by refining the car set-up to suit him more. In the afternoon he made full use of this to establish himself in third behind the two factory Citroëns, which are really on top of their game here. Kimi Räikkönen had very much the same approach in his battle with Matthew Wilson. He came off best to claim sixth place this evening.
This is an excellent position for him to be in on his first visit to Germany. This was the longest day of rallying of the year, thanks to a gruelling 187.58 competitive kilometres, and our C4s and their drivers faced up to the challenge well.”
Source: Red Bull Rallye
Jumat, 20 Agustus 2010
KIMI ENJOYS HIS FIRST TASTE OF GERMANY
Red Bull Rallye Deutschland day one report
Germany's Rallye Deutschland, round nine of the World Rally Championship and only the second asphalt event for Red Bull's former Grand Prix champion Kimi Raikkonen, is well-known for providing three days of stark contrasts.
What else do you expect from a country that boasts over 1500 different types of sausage? The average German gets through more than 30 kilos of sausage annually, meaning that it would take only 41 people to eat the equivalent weight in sausages of Kimi's Citroen C4 World Rally Car in one year.
Some of the types of sausage available in Germany would not be to everybody's taste. Gehirnwurst is a sausage made mostly out of pig's brain. Or alternatively there is Hertzwurst, for those who prefer pig's heart. And then you get some quite unexpected ingredients too. Weisswurst, for example, is a sausage whose constituents include cream and eggs.
For Kimi, the diet today was made up of six tough asphalt stages around Trier, where the Rallye Deutschland has traditionally been based. 'The Iceman' started the day's action eighth on the road - and that proved to be slightly problematic for him as the stages went on. With so many leading competitors in front, Kimi had to cope with a large amount of stones and loose gravel thrown up onto the road that made the surface extremely slippery and unstable.
On only his second World Championship asphalt rally, it wasn't easy for him to find the right braking points compared to the other more experienced drivers. Nonetheless, 'the Iceman' kept his cool. At the end of the first day he was eighth: comfortably in the points and with only a small gap to the person in front. There's still a long way to go and everything left to play for.
"Even before coming here, I knew that Germany would be the most difficult of the asphalt rallies because it is very specialised, and I was certainly right about that," said Kimi. "It's quite a strange rally, because each one of the three days is very different and has its own specific things. Here you need experience, so the main thing for me is obviously to get to the finish. It helps if you have a very good feeling for these roads, like Sebastien Loeb who has won here since the rally first joined the World Championship. We've obviously got a lot of work still to do, especially compared to him, but it was already getting better in the afternoon and it's just a question of building up the kilometres. We didn't make any real mistakes so I'm quite happy. Tomorrow we're going to try and carry on like this, but of course tomorrow is also a completely different type of day, so effectively we have to start learning all over again!"
Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom has plenty of experience in Germany but he did not finish his last Rallye Deutschland in 2003: a statistic that he is hoping to remedy on this occasion.
"We've got off to a good start, but it's not been an easy day," said the Finn in the right-hand seat. "The main thing is that we've made no mistakes and had a clean run through the stages. We've been making more progress with the pace notes and although the stages today were not straightforward, we worked very well together and I think we've got a solid base to move forwards from now. Our aim is to get some points here in Germany, and so far we're on course to do that. Let's just keep it going..."
Source: RedBull Rallye
Germany's Rallye Deutschland, round nine of the World Rally Championship and only the second asphalt event for Red Bull's former Grand Prix champion Kimi Raikkonen, is well-known for providing three days of stark contrasts. What else do you expect from a country that boasts over 1500 different types of sausage? The average German gets through more than 30 kilos of sausage annually, meaning that it would take only 41 people to eat the equivalent weight in sausages of Kimi's Citroen C4 World Rally Car in one year.
Some of the types of sausage available in Germany would not be to everybody's taste. Gehirnwurst is a sausage made mostly out of pig's brain. Or alternatively there is Hertzwurst, for those who prefer pig's heart. And then you get some quite unexpected ingredients too. Weisswurst, for example, is a sausage whose constituents include cream and eggs.
For Kimi, the diet today was made up of six tough asphalt stages around Trier, where the Rallye Deutschland has traditionally been based. 'The Iceman' started the day's action eighth on the road - and that proved to be slightly problematic for him as the stages went on. With so many leading competitors in front, Kimi had to cope with a large amount of stones and loose gravel thrown up onto the road that made the surface extremely slippery and unstable.
On only his second World Championship asphalt rally, it wasn't easy for him to find the right braking points compared to the other more experienced drivers. Nonetheless, 'the Iceman' kept his cool. At the end of the first day he was eighth: comfortably in the points and with only a small gap to the person in front. There's still a long way to go and everything left to play for.
"Even before coming here, I knew that Germany would be the most difficult of the asphalt rallies because it is very specialised, and I was certainly right about that," said Kimi. "It's quite a strange rally, because each one of the three days is very different and has its own specific things. Here you need experience, so the main thing for me is obviously to get to the finish. It helps if you have a very good feeling for these roads, like Sebastien Loeb who has won here since the rally first joined the World Championship. We've obviously got a lot of work still to do, especially compared to him, but it was already getting better in the afternoon and it's just a question of building up the kilometres. We didn't make any real mistakes so I'm quite happy. Tomorrow we're going to try and carry on like this, but of course tomorrow is also a completely different type of day, so effectively we have to start learning all over again!"
Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom has plenty of experience in Germany but he did not finish his last Rallye Deutschland in 2003: a statistic that he is hoping to remedy on this occasion.
"We've got off to a good start, but it's not been an easy day," said the Finn in the right-hand seat. "The main thing is that we've made no mistakes and had a clean run through the stages. We've been making more progress with the pace notes and although the stages today were not straightforward, we worked very well together and I think we've got a solid base to move forwards from now. Our aim is to get some points here in Germany, and so far we're on course to do that. Let's just keep it going..."
Source: RedBull Rallye
Rallye Deutschland 2010: Overnight leader Loeb vows tokeep pushing
Sebastien Loeb will take a 9.5-second lead into day two of Rallye Deutschland although the reigning world champion admits the gap might not be enough to keep Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo at bay
The Spaniard has been a consistent threat to Loeb through Friday’s six stages and went faster than the Frenchman on the final stage of the day, the repeat of the 19.92-kilometre Moselland test.
“It’s been a good day for sure but it’s not been easy and I have been really pushing because first Petter was fast and then it was Dani,” said Loeb. “I have to continue this way tomorrow if I am to win.”
Sordo, back in the main Citroen team after contesting Rally Finland with the company’s Junior squad, said he had been full of confidence throughout the day. “My times have been consistent and it’s nice to be close to Sebastien,” said Sordo. “But the most important thing is to take as many points as possible for the manufacturers’ championship.”
Jari-Matti Latvala is the leading works Ford driver in third overall and was satisfied with the progress made since the last asphalt round in Bulgaria back in early July.
“I’ve made progress since Bulgaria and that is important,” said the Rally Finland winner. “I’ve not made any major errors but the small ones have cost some time.”
With the anti-stall problem that slowed him this morning resolved, Sebastien Ogier was able to climb ahead of Mikko Hirvonen for fourth after going faster than the Finn on stage five. Ogier said he was satisfied with his performance but Hirvonen admitted that he needs to find more speed on day two in the second factory Ford.
Francois Duval completes the top six on his return to the WRC for the first time since 2008. The Belgian could have been higher up the leaderboard but for a broken front-right driveshaft five kilometres from the finish of stage two, which left his Focus on rear-wheel drive only.
“It’s good that this is a long rally as it can hopefully allow me to catch up on the others after a bad start,” said Duval, who lost almost a minute on Friday morning.
Matthew Wilson is seventh, 4.7s behind Duval, after overcoming understeer and brake problems earlier in the day.
Ex-Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen is eighth in his Citroen Junior Team C4 with Petter Solberg ninth after a fraught day. The Norwegian suffered a deflated tyre on the opening stage and in his efforts to make up the lost time he carried too much speed into a left-hander on stage six and broke his right-rear wheel rim against a kerb, which prompted a second wheel change.
“It’s been an up and down day,” said Solberg. “The car has been very good and we showed our speed by going fastest on stage five. Unfortunately we overshot a junction on stage five and then had the problem with the wheel on stage six.”
Ken Block completes the top 10 in his Monster World Rally Team Focus on only his third asphalt rally and his first at world championship level.
Overall:
1. 1 S. LOEB M 1:18:52.5 0.0 0.0
2. 2 D. SORDO M 1:19:02.0 +9.5 +9.5
3. 4 J. LATVALA M 1:19:57.2 +55.2 +1:04.7
4. 7 S. OGIER M 1:20:03.4 +6.2 +1:10.9
5. 3 M. HIRVONEN M 1:20:07.0 +3.6 +1:14.5
6. 6 F. DUVAL M 1:22:02.9 +1:55.9 +3:10.4
7. 5 M. WILSON M 1:22:07.6 +4.7 +3:15.1
8. 8 K. RÄIKKÖNEN M 1:22:15.3 +7.7 +3:22.8
9. 11 P. SOLBERG 1:23:40.2 +1:24.9 +4:47.7
10. 43 K. BLOCK 1:24:34.8 +54.6 +5:42.3
Source: WRC
The Spaniard has been a consistent threat to Loeb through Friday’s six stages and went faster than the Frenchman on the final stage of the day, the repeat of the 19.92-kilometre Moselland test.
“It’s been a good day for sure but it’s not been easy and I have been really pushing because first Petter was fast and then it was Dani,” said Loeb. “I have to continue this way tomorrow if I am to win.”
Sordo, back in the main Citroen team after contesting Rally Finland with the company’s Junior squad, said he had been full of confidence throughout the day. “My times have been consistent and it’s nice to be close to Sebastien,” said Sordo. “But the most important thing is to take as many points as possible for the manufacturers’ championship.”
Jari-Matti Latvala is the leading works Ford driver in third overall and was satisfied with the progress made since the last asphalt round in Bulgaria back in early July.
“I’ve made progress since Bulgaria and that is important,” said the Rally Finland winner. “I’ve not made any major errors but the small ones have cost some time.”
With the anti-stall problem that slowed him this morning resolved, Sebastien Ogier was able to climb ahead of Mikko Hirvonen for fourth after going faster than the Finn on stage five. Ogier said he was satisfied with his performance but Hirvonen admitted that he needs to find more speed on day two in the second factory Ford.
Francois Duval completes the top six on his return to the WRC for the first time since 2008. The Belgian could have been higher up the leaderboard but for a broken front-right driveshaft five kilometres from the finish of stage two, which left his Focus on rear-wheel drive only.
“It’s good that this is a long rally as it can hopefully allow me to catch up on the others after a bad start,” said Duval, who lost almost a minute on Friday morning.
Matthew Wilson is seventh, 4.7s behind Duval, after overcoming understeer and brake problems earlier in the day.
Ex-Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen is eighth in his Citroen Junior Team C4 with Petter Solberg ninth after a fraught day. The Norwegian suffered a deflated tyre on the opening stage and in his efforts to make up the lost time he carried too much speed into a left-hander on stage six and broke his right-rear wheel rim against a kerb, which prompted a second wheel change.
“It’s been an up and down day,” said Solberg. “The car has been very good and we showed our speed by going fastest on stage five. Unfortunately we overshot a junction on stage five and then had the problem with the wheel on stage six.”
Ken Block completes the top 10 in his Monster World Rally Team Focus on only his third asphalt rally and his first at world championship level.
Overall:
1. 1 S. LOEB M 1:18:52.5 0.0 0.0
2. 2 D. SORDO M 1:19:02.0 +9.5 +9.5
3. 4 J. LATVALA M 1:19:57.2 +55.2 +1:04.7
4. 7 S. OGIER M 1:20:03.4 +6.2 +1:10.9
5. 3 M. HIRVONEN M 1:20:07.0 +3.6 +1:14.5
6. 6 F. DUVAL M 1:22:02.9 +1:55.9 +3:10.4
7. 5 M. WILSON M 1:22:07.6 +4.7 +3:15.1
8. 8 K. RÄIKKÖNEN M 1:22:15.3 +7.7 +3:22.8
9. 11 P. SOLBERG 1:23:40.2 +1:24.9 +4:47.7
10. 43 K. BLOCK 1:24:34.8 +54.6 +5:42.3
Source: WRC
Senin, 16 Agustus 2010
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN GETS READY FOR ACTION IN GERMANY
Kimi Räikkönen Red Bull Rallye Deutschland preview
The last time that Kimi Raikkonen set foot on military ground was probably when he did national service as a youngster back home in Finland.
Everyone aged 18 or over has to do military service in Finland, even Formula One World Champions. So every year 27,000 Finnish boys (women are exempted) join the army. In return for getting up at 5am and enduring cold showers for up to a year, the young conscripts are paid between four and 10 Euros per hour.
Most people are keen never to go back. Yet Kimi will return to military duty once more this weekend, when he takes on some of the most challenging asphalt stages on the World Rally Championship, held in the Baumholder military area on day two of the Rallye Deutschland in Germany.
These long stages are made up of concrete roads that were previously used for testing tanks. By the side of the road are huge stone blocks known as hinkelsteins: these were originally designed for preventing the tanks from going off the road. Needless to say, hitting one of these in a rally car is not recommended.
Luckily, Kimi has a considerably more sophisticated vehicle than a tank at his disposal: the all-conquering Citroen C4 WRC. And the remaining two days of the Rallye Deutschland, on Friday and Sunday, are somewhat more normal than the unique challenge of Baumholder.
The difference between driving on a circuit and on an asphalt rally stage is huge. But Bulgaria last month showed Kimi's potential on sealed surfaces in a rally car, and he is determined to capitalise on the experience in Germany this weekend.
"I don't know exactly what the German stages will be like, but I know that they will be very different to Bulgaria," said the 2007 Formula One World Champion and winner of 18 Grands Prix. "In racing, the surface of one circuit is not massively different to the surface of another, although there are some small changes. In rallying, the difference is huge on every event. There is so much variety on a rally: every kilometre and every corner is different. That's why experience is so important in this sport. So I just need to keep on building up my knowledge: I will try my best in Germany but I really need to make sure that I am there at the finish so that I can learn all about this event. Everyone tells me that the stages are quite complicated so we will have to be careful, especially if it is raining."
Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom knows what to expect from the Rallye Deutschland, having competed on the event twice previously alongside four-time World Champion Tommi Makinen: one of the many rally experts who have been impressed by what Kimi has done in his first year of the world championship.
"This is only going to be Kimi's second World Championship asphalt rally, and just his ninth WRC event," added Kaj. "Germany is not going to be an easy one, but Bulgaria was very good for us and we continued making progress in Finland. I'm really pleased by the way that Kimi has come so far in an extremely short space of time: nobody has rallied at this level before with so little experience, and that's a great achievement. For me, the most important thing in Germany is that we continue learning, work hard on our pace notes, and try to get a solid result. Like Kimi said, it's all about getting the experience."
Luckily for Kimi, Rallye Deutschland is the only time that he will be forced into military action this year. The 'iceman' is 30, and the obligation to be called into the army in Finland ends when you are 28.
And relax.…
Source: RallyBuzz
The last time that Kimi Raikkonen set foot on military ground was probably when he did national service as a youngster back home in Finland.Everyone aged 18 or over has to do military service in Finland, even Formula One World Champions. So every year 27,000 Finnish boys (women are exempted) join the army. In return for getting up at 5am and enduring cold showers for up to a year, the young conscripts are paid between four and 10 Euros per hour.
Most people are keen never to go back. Yet Kimi will return to military duty once more this weekend, when he takes on some of the most challenging asphalt stages on the World Rally Championship, held in the Baumholder military area on day two of the Rallye Deutschland in Germany.
These long stages are made up of concrete roads that were previously used for testing tanks. By the side of the road are huge stone blocks known as hinkelsteins: these were originally designed for preventing the tanks from going off the road. Needless to say, hitting one of these in a rally car is not recommended.
Luckily, Kimi has a considerably more sophisticated vehicle than a tank at his disposal: the all-conquering Citroen C4 WRC. And the remaining two days of the Rallye Deutschland, on Friday and Sunday, are somewhat more normal than the unique challenge of Baumholder.
The difference between driving on a circuit and on an asphalt rally stage is huge. But Bulgaria last month showed Kimi's potential on sealed surfaces in a rally car, and he is determined to capitalise on the experience in Germany this weekend.
"I don't know exactly what the German stages will be like, but I know that they will be very different to Bulgaria," said the 2007 Formula One World Champion and winner of 18 Grands Prix. "In racing, the surface of one circuit is not massively different to the surface of another, although there are some small changes. In rallying, the difference is huge on every event. There is so much variety on a rally: every kilometre and every corner is different. That's why experience is so important in this sport. So I just need to keep on building up my knowledge: I will try my best in Germany but I really need to make sure that I am there at the finish so that I can learn all about this event. Everyone tells me that the stages are quite complicated so we will have to be careful, especially if it is raining."
Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom knows what to expect from the Rallye Deutschland, having competed on the event twice previously alongside four-time World Champion Tommi Makinen: one of the many rally experts who have been impressed by what Kimi has done in his first year of the world championship.
"This is only going to be Kimi's second World Championship asphalt rally, and just his ninth WRC event," added Kaj. "Germany is not going to be an easy one, but Bulgaria was very good for us and we continued making progress in Finland. I'm really pleased by the way that Kimi has come so far in an extremely short space of time: nobody has rallied at this level before with so little experience, and that's a great achievement. For me, the most important thing in Germany is that we continue learning, work hard on our pace notes, and try to get a solid result. Like Kimi said, it's all about getting the experience."
Luckily for Kimi, Rallye Deutschland is the only time that he will be forced into military action this year. The 'iceman' is 30, and the obligation to be called into the army in Finland ends when you are 28.
And relax.…
Source: RallyBuzz
Minggu, 15 Agustus 2010
Mäkinen: asphalt podium a possibility for Kimi
Four-time world champion Tommi Mäkinen says he wouldn’t bet against compatriot Kimi Räikkönen landing a podium finish before the end of the current world championship campaign.
Räikkönen, in his first season in the global series, will take part on Rallye Deutschland next week in his Red Bull-backed Citroen C4 WRC, the second Tarmac event of the year.
Mäkinen, who coached the ex-Formula One driver during his transition to rallying, said he expected Räikkönen to excel on the remaining sealed surface events following an impressive showing on the all-asphalt Rally Bulgaria in July.
“He did very good in Bulgaria and I’m sure he will again be good on the other Tarmac events,” said Mäkinen. “It will be very, very difficult to get a podium but, if everything really goes well, you never know – it’s quite possible.”
Source: MaxRally
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)
