Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rallye de France. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Rallye de France. Tampilkan semua postingan
Kamis, 14 Oktober 2010
Senin, 04 Oktober 2010
Kimi saved his car for Catalonia
Kimi Räikkönen was 40 minutes behind the lead after Saturday's off and he didn't continue the rally on Sunday. Räikkönen was in fact already home in Switzerland on Sunday
Citroen's Junior team reported that Räikkönen had suffered from some grip-problems from the beginning after the front-cars had made the tarmac roads muddy. Some parts reminded Räikkönen of a mud wrestling arena.
According to the announcement the grip was as unexpected as a chimp holding a machine gun.
Räikkönen and his team decided not to continue on Sunday with the super rally regulation. This way the team avoided the risk of damaging the Citroën WRC C4 -car before the rally in Catalonia.
– Stupid mistakes. We didn't have any difficulties in any fast corner in this rally but they really came in the real slow corners. There was so much mud and so little grip that it didn't feel like a normal tarmac-rally at all.
– The car didn't suffer but I have to admit that when driving so much behind the others the motivation isn't the best and that's when it becomes difficult.
– We learned a lot again and it's really good to have one experience more. I don't think that we could have learned anything on Sunday under these conditions and that's why the wisest thing was to save the car for Catalonia, Räikkönen said.
Turun Sanomat, Strasbourgh
Citroen's Junior team reported that Räikkönen had suffered from some grip-problems from the beginning after the front-cars had made the tarmac roads muddy. Some parts reminded Räikkönen of a mud wrestling arena.According to the announcement the grip was as unexpected as a chimp holding a machine gun.
Räikkönen and his team decided not to continue on Sunday with the super rally regulation. This way the team avoided the risk of damaging the Citroën WRC C4 -car before the rally in Catalonia.
– Stupid mistakes. We didn't have any difficulties in any fast corner in this rally but they really came in the real slow corners. There was so much mud and so little grip that it didn't feel like a normal tarmac-rally at all.
– The car didn't suffer but I have to admit that when driving so much behind the others the motivation isn't the best and that's when it becomes difficult.
– We learned a lot again and it's really good to have one experience more. I don't think that we could have learned anything on Sunday under these conditions and that's why the wisest thing was to save the car for Catalonia, Räikkönen said.
Turun Sanomat, Strasbourgh
Courtesy: Nicole
Minggu, 03 Oktober 2010
Räikkönen explains retirement decision
Kimi Räikkönen has elected not to re-start the final day of the Rallye de France-Alsace in order to save his car for the Catalunya Rally in three weeks' time
The former Grand Prix Champion had a torrid time yesterday, sliding off the road on two occasions and dropping just out of the top 50 overall.
Although the car was recovered back to service undamaged after his second off on SS15, Räikkönen decided that it was best not to re-start the final day, consisting just of two runs over a military camp stage and superspecial stage, in order not to risk going off again and damaging his Citroën C4 WRC.
Due to his road position, the Finn struggled with all the mud on the road left by previous cars cutting the corners, and he felt that this would be a major problem on the final leg today - particularly with all the big cuts anticipated on the Bitche Camp military stage.
“I don't think we’re going to learn much more under these conditions, so the sensible decision is to save the car for the Catalunya Rally, which I'm really looking forward to,” said Räikkönen.
“I don’t want to risk going off again. In some places, you could hardly see the asphalt here with all the mud and gravel on the road. The car did not sustain any damage during either of our two incidents yesterday, but obviously when you are running so far down the order you don’t have exactly the same motivation and that makes things quite difficult. We still learned a lot though and it has been really useful to have had this experience.”
Räikkönen’s next outing will be the Catalunya Rally from 22-24 October. Before then, he will test his car at the Citroën Junior Team’s nominated test base in France next week.
Source: WRC
The former Grand Prix Champion had a torrid time yesterday, sliding off the road on two occasions and dropping just out of the top 50 overall.Although the car was recovered back to service undamaged after his second off on SS15, Räikkönen decided that it was best not to re-start the final day, consisting just of two runs over a military camp stage and superspecial stage, in order not to risk going off again and damaging his Citroën C4 WRC.
Due to his road position, the Finn struggled with all the mud on the road left by previous cars cutting the corners, and he felt that this would be a major problem on the final leg today - particularly with all the big cuts anticipated on the Bitche Camp military stage.
“I don't think we’re going to learn much more under these conditions, so the sensible decision is to save the car for the Catalunya Rally, which I'm really looking forward to,” said Räikkönen.
“I don’t want to risk going off again. In some places, you could hardly see the asphalt here with all the mud and gravel on the road. The car did not sustain any damage during either of our two incidents yesterday, but obviously when you are running so far down the order you don’t have exactly the same motivation and that makes things quite difficult. We still learned a lot though and it has been really useful to have had this experience.”
Räikkönen’s next outing will be the Catalunya Rally from 22-24 October. Before then, he will test his car at the Citroën Junior Team’s nominated test base in France next week.
Source: WRC
Sabtu, 02 Oktober 2010
RALLYE DE FRANCE - KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN AND LEG 2
After more than 30 years in Corsica, the Rallye de France is being run in Alsace but Kimi Räikkönen's Citroen colleague Sebastien Loeb is not the only famous Alsatian out there
This tiny French province, tucked into a corner of Germany and Kimi's adopted home of Switzerland, has also produced football manager Arsene Wenger as well as other sporting stars such as Michel Platini. Not to mention generations of Alsatian dogs, also known as German Shepherds.
Kimi struggled with grip on the first day of the rally, largely due to the cars in front of him sprinkling so much dirt onto the road that the stages looked like a mud-wrestling arena. This made the amount of grip as predictable as a chimpanzee with a machine gun, but Kimi still kept his nerve to skate to seventh overall.
The same muddy problem existed on day two, which featured even more corner-cutting on the tight and twisty vineyard stages. These were not dissimilar to those on the Rally Germany, where Kimi set his first World Rally Championship fastest stage time in August.
'The Iceman' was making solid progress on the damp roads until he got caught out by a slippery corner halfway through the second stage of the day, taken at about 20kph. The car became beached in a place where there were not many spectators and he lost more than half an hour trying to get back on the road. Kimi continued right up to the penultimate stage today before definitively ending his day's work when the car got stuck again on the outside of a corner. The Red Bull driver will not return under the SupeRally regulations tomorrow, as he has decided not to risk damaging his Citroën C4 further prior to next rally in Spain later this month.
"It was just a stupid thing," said Kimi. "We've not had any problems during the fast corners on the rally, so it's really silly that we suffered in the slow ones! There was just so much mud and so little grip today that it wasn't like a normal asphalt rally. The car did not sustain any damage during either of our two incidents, but obviously when you are running so far down the order you don't have exactly the same motivation and that makes things quite difficult. We still learned a lot though and it has been really useful to have had this experience. I don't think we're going to learn much more tomorrow under these conditions, so the sensible decision is to save the car for the Catalunya Rally, which I'm really looking forward to."
His co-driver Kaj Lindstrom added: "Some you win, some you lose and today was just a bit unlucky for us. In rallying, just the smallest things can put you out and finding the limit is all part of the learning process, particularly as this is only Kimi's third World Championship rally on asphalt with this car. He's put in some really promising performances under difficult circumstances, including a sixth-fastest time today. Now we're going to concentrate on being as well-prepared as possible for the next round in Spain."
The final day of the Rallye de France tomorrow takes competitors through Sebastien Loeb's hometown of Haguenau at what seems set to be a Citroen party. It's just as well that there is plenty of Red Bull in the fridge...
Source: RedBullRallye
This tiny French province, tucked into a corner of Germany and Kimi's adopted home of Switzerland, has also produced football manager Arsene Wenger as well as other sporting stars such as Michel Platini. Not to mention generations of Alsatian dogs, also known as German Shepherds.Kimi struggled with grip on the first day of the rally, largely due to the cars in front of him sprinkling so much dirt onto the road that the stages looked like a mud-wrestling arena. This made the amount of grip as predictable as a chimpanzee with a machine gun, but Kimi still kept his nerve to skate to seventh overall.
The same muddy problem existed on day two, which featured even more corner-cutting on the tight and twisty vineyard stages. These were not dissimilar to those on the Rally Germany, where Kimi set his first World Rally Championship fastest stage time in August.
'The Iceman' was making solid progress on the damp roads until he got caught out by a slippery corner halfway through the second stage of the day, taken at about 20kph. The car became beached in a place where there were not many spectators and he lost more than half an hour trying to get back on the road. Kimi continued right up to the penultimate stage today before definitively ending his day's work when the car got stuck again on the outside of a corner. The Red Bull driver will not return under the SupeRally regulations tomorrow, as he has decided not to risk damaging his Citroën C4 further prior to next rally in Spain later this month.
"It was just a stupid thing," said Kimi. "We've not had any problems during the fast corners on the rally, so it's really silly that we suffered in the slow ones! There was just so much mud and so little grip today that it wasn't like a normal asphalt rally. The car did not sustain any damage during either of our two incidents, but obviously when you are running so far down the order you don't have exactly the same motivation and that makes things quite difficult. We still learned a lot though and it has been really useful to have had this experience. I don't think we're going to learn much more tomorrow under these conditions, so the sensible decision is to save the car for the Catalunya Rally, which I'm really looking forward to."
His co-driver Kaj Lindstrom added: "Some you win, some you lose and today was just a bit unlucky for us. In rallying, just the smallest things can put you out and finding the limit is all part of the learning process, particularly as this is only Kimi's third World Championship rally on asphalt with this car. He's put in some really promising performances under difficult circumstances, including a sixth-fastest time today. Now we're going to concentrate on being as well-prepared as possible for the next round in Spain."
The final day of the Rallye de France tomorrow takes competitors through Sebastien Loeb's hometown of Haguenau at what seems set to be a Citroen party. It's just as well that there is plenty of Red Bull in the fridge...
Source: RedBullRallye
My day with: Kaj Lindström
“It’s been an interesting second day of Rallye de France but not an easy one. In the end we so nearly managed to get to the end of all the stages, which was great, but we were off on two occasions, which wasn’t. Tomorrow we will start the final day thanks to SupeRally, but it’s obviously not the same. All the motivation goes, so it becomes a lot more like testing than competing.
“Myself and Kimi started the day in seventh, which is not bad at all under the circumstances. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an asphalt rally with conditions like the ones we had yesterday: it was more like a battlefield than an asphalt stage! There was mud everywhere and the grip was somewhere between zero and less than zero.
“That was the same problem we had today as well: it was impossible to build up proper confidence and halfway through the second stage of the day we just went skating off on the mud, on a corner that was probably taken at about 20 kph.
“There have been so many spectators on this rally, but when you need them around they are never there: we were on our own apart from maybe 10 people or so. Eventually we managed to get the car back onto the road, but half an hour was gone and any chance of getting a good result.
“Then we had another problem on the penultimate stage: the car went wide and we got stuck on the outside of a corner, which was obviously quite dangerous. We had to get out of the car in case anybody else hit us, and unfortunately that was our work done for the day.
“With a clean run, I think that we could have been near the top six in the end, which would have been a great result for only Kimi’s third world championship rally on asphalt.
“Generally speaking, I think he’s made a lot of progress over the last few months, particularly when it comes to the pace notes. Finland was an important turning point, and since then things have been getting better and better. We’ve maybe not had the concrete results to show for it, but the potential has been definitely there. Up to the point where we slipped off, which was just a stupid little thing, we had been completely consistent and mistake-free too: in fact we set seventh-fastest time on every single stage yesterday!
“It’s not easy starting a whole new learning campaign like this when you’re a former F1 champion, but Kimi is really working hard and he’s always ready to take new ideas on board.
“I see quite a few things in common between him and Tommi Makinen, whom I used to co-drive for: they’re both determined, they’ve both got a great sense of humour, and they’re both bloody fast…”
Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: Julia
No restart for Räikkönen in France
Kimi Räikkönen won’t restart Rallye de France on Sunday after electing to save his Citroën C4 WRC for Spain’s round of the world championship later this month.
Räikkönen, Formula One world champion in 2007, slithered off the road and retired on Saturday’s penultimate stage. Although the car was undamaged, Räikkönen has opted to stop for good rather than return to action on Sunday’s final four stages.
“There was no point risking damaging the car ahead of Catalunya because it will be the same car I use there,” said Räikkönen. “The conditions here will not be the same as in Spain so I won’t learn much by driving tomorrow. We are expecting difficult conditions again tomorrow so I decided not to risk an accident when I am not learning anything.”
Räikkönen’s Citroën Junior Team stablemate Sebastien Ogier will restart, however, after his mechanics repaired the damaged suspension top mount, which forced his retirement on stage 14.
Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: Julia
RALLY FRANCE: FIVE KEY KIMI FACTS
You may know Kimi Räikkönen is seventh overall after the opening day of the Rallye de France. You probably know the Iceman will stop at nothing to achieve success and you've probably heard he’s not always the most communicative individual out there. These facts are well known. But here are five more facts about Kimi that may come as something of a surprise…
Source: RedBull
Courtesy: vida
1. He drives slowly on the road
When he’s at home, driving his AMG Mercedes, Audi Q7 or Cadillac Escalade (just three every day cars among his varied fleet), he likes to take it easy. This is mostly because he has homes in both Finland and Switzerland – two of the most draconian countries in the world when it comes to speeding fines, and where the size of the fine is related to income earned. “It’s just not worth it,” he concludes. “You’ll normally find me on the speed limit.”
2. He owns a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray that once was Sharon Stone's
He bought it at an AIDS charity auction for 200,000 Euros. He’s hardly ever driven it, but it was all for a good cause. He’s not just into powerful cars too: in the Raikkonen garage you will find an old Mini and a Fiat 500. Not to mention a couple of custom-built motorbikes with ‘Iceman’ emblazoned on the fuel tank. There’s nothing like travelling anonymously.
3. He once attempted to steal his brother’s rally car
Kimi’s older brother Rami is also a rally driver. In fact Rami even won his class on the Rally Finland a few years ago. When Rami had his first rally car, an Opel, younger brother kept on begging permission to drive it. Rami didn’t think it was a particularly good idea, so Kimi decided that it would be quicker and easier to help himself.
4. Kimi’s first car was a Lada
In what is possibly the finest endorsement of the Russian car industry yet, Kimi recently admitted that his first car was a Lada. He goes so far as to even claim that it was a “good car” and that he sold it to “a friend”. Whether or not this person is still his friend remains to be seen.
5. Kimi’s motorsport career was inspired by a toilet
Kimi’s father Matti (who drove a steamroller) was faced with a dilemma when his children were young: buy them go-karts or replace the ageing outdoor toilet in the family home with an indoor one? Thankfully for fans all over the world, Matti decided that icicles on his buttocks were a small price to pay for his offspring’s happiness…
Source: RedBull
Courtesy: vida
Jumat, 01 Oktober 2010
KIMI TAKES ON THE GIANTS IN FRANCE
Red Bull Rally de France day one report
France has already developed a firm place in Finnish culture, as the world-famous Asterix books (which have sold 325 million copies worldwide) are available in no fewer than four regional dialects in Finland - including Helsinki slang, which Kimi Raikkonen would undoubtedly be familiar with.
Asterix tells the story of a brave little French soldier, with a big moustache, resisting the occupation of the mighty Roman army in ancient France. Kimi has quite a similar task on his hands this weekend, as he is up against massive local opposition who know their home territory intimately, cheered on by thousands of fans.
Kimi doesn't have a moustache, but he does have a huge amount of determination as well as backing from Red Bull this year: his first full season of the World Rally Championship. He needed every bit of confidence on the Rallye de France this morning, held in Sebastien Loeb's back garden over the slippery asphalt roads of Alsace.
October means winter, so conditions today were cold and wet: hardly an ideal backdrop for what was only Kimi's third World Championship asphalt rally. Nonetheless, at the end of eight trouble-free stages, Kimi brought his Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC home in seventh place overall, with not a scratch on it. The 'Iceman' is now ready for action again over eight more stages tomorrow, and he is hoping for some warmer weather. Even Finns get cold sometimes.
"With the grip being really variable all the time, it wasn't easy for me to get used to everything and we were probably a bit too careful in the morning," said Kimi. "It's been quite slippery with a lot of mud and gravel on the road; much more than we expected. The first two cars clearly had the advantage and after that it was really difficult. But we've made no mistakes, which was important. We're learning new things all the time: it was the first time that we've driven in slippery conditions with downhill sections because on our last asphalt rally in Germany it was always flat. In the afternoon I wasn't completely confident with the car; we were sliding a lot at the back and it was difficult under braking. But we've set decent times all day, although we would like to be a little quicker, and now we just need to continue like this tomorrow."
Asterix has a sidekick called Obelix but instead Kimi Raikkonen can rely on his co-driver Kaj Lindstrom: who is as just as dependable as the Gaulish warrior, but smaller, lighter and with a much better sense of direction. Kaj has been pleased with Kimi's progress on the difficult conditions of the opening day in France and the Finn is looking forward to more action tomorrow.
"This is certainly the most tricky day on asphalt that we have contested so far on the World Rally Championship, so to come out of it setting top-eight stage times and in seventh overall is a great result, given Kimi's huge lack of experience compared to the other drivers here," said Kaj. "We've got a few ideas about tomorrow, so the plan is to carry on like this and keep building up experience. I'm very pleased that we have had no mistakes at all today, and our goal is to get a solid finish."
Source: RedBullRallye
France has already developed a firm place in Finnish culture, as the world-famous Asterix books (which have sold 325 million copies worldwide) are available in no fewer than four regional dialects in Finland - including Helsinki slang, which Kimi Raikkonen would undoubtedly be familiar with.Asterix tells the story of a brave little French soldier, with a big moustache, resisting the occupation of the mighty Roman army in ancient France. Kimi has quite a similar task on his hands this weekend, as he is up against massive local opposition who know their home territory intimately, cheered on by thousands of fans.
Kimi doesn't have a moustache, but he does have a huge amount of determination as well as backing from Red Bull this year: his first full season of the World Rally Championship. He needed every bit of confidence on the Rallye de France this morning, held in Sebastien Loeb's back garden over the slippery asphalt roads of Alsace.
October means winter, so conditions today were cold and wet: hardly an ideal backdrop for what was only Kimi's third World Championship asphalt rally. Nonetheless, at the end of eight trouble-free stages, Kimi brought his Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC home in seventh place overall, with not a scratch on it. The 'Iceman' is now ready for action again over eight more stages tomorrow, and he is hoping for some warmer weather. Even Finns get cold sometimes.
"With the grip being really variable all the time, it wasn't easy for me to get used to everything and we were probably a bit too careful in the morning," said Kimi. "It's been quite slippery with a lot of mud and gravel on the road; much more than we expected. The first two cars clearly had the advantage and after that it was really difficult. But we've made no mistakes, which was important. We're learning new things all the time: it was the first time that we've driven in slippery conditions with downhill sections because on our last asphalt rally in Germany it was always flat. In the afternoon I wasn't completely confident with the car; we were sliding a lot at the back and it was difficult under braking. But we've set decent times all day, although we would like to be a little quicker, and now we just need to continue like this tomorrow."
Asterix has a sidekick called Obelix but instead Kimi Raikkonen can rely on his co-driver Kaj Lindstrom: who is as just as dependable as the Gaulish warrior, but smaller, lighter and with a much better sense of direction. Kaj has been pleased with Kimi's progress on the difficult conditions of the opening day in France and the Finn is looking forward to more action tomorrow.
"This is certainly the most tricky day on asphalt that we have contested so far on the World Rally Championship, so to come out of it setting top-eight stage times and in seventh overall is a great result, given Kimi's huge lack of experience compared to the other drivers here," said Kaj. "We've got a few ideas about tomorrow, so the plan is to carry on like this and keep building up experience. I'm very pleased that we have had no mistakes at all today, and our goal is to get a solid finish."
Source: RedBullRallye
Kimi Räikkönen Interview MTV3 at Rallye de France 2010
Kimi: " There are different people speaking different things. I only had one year contract with them. Those people there (RB) I personally have been speakin with knew it´s going to be tough and difficult and crashes were expected. It´s not surprising, there´s always lots of commentating, I´m not worried about it."
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Moominpappa
Kamis, 30 September 2010
Solberg flies in Rallye de France Shakedown
Norway's Petter Solberg went fastest in a mixed-up shakedown, but the real action gets underway tomorrow morning at 0843 with the first of 20 stages
Former World Champion Petter Solberg has claimed fastest time in the shakedown for the all-new Rallye de France, over a short asphalt stage running around the service area. The Norwegian set a best time of 1m53.4s in his privately-run Citroën C4 WRC, under cloudy skies and damp conditions. Temperatures were cool at around 11 degrees centigrade.
The stage was not especially representative of the conditions that the competitors will face over the next three days, and the times were taken by hand as the specialised equipment had already left for the first stage.
This led to quite a few surprises on the time sheets - but not too much should be read into them. World Touring Car Championship star Yvan Muller was the third-quickest driver on the shakedown, driving Solberg’s old 2006-specification Citroën Xsara WRC.
“My new team mate is not bad at all, is he?” joked Solberg. “From our point of view everything was really good, but the rally is a different thing. We came very close to winning on the last round in Japan, so we’re going to be pushing hard.”
The second-quickest car on the shakedown was Hungarian privateer Frigyes Turan in a Peugeot 307 WRC, while the Ford Fiesta Super 2000 of Henning Solberg was fourth-fastest behind Muller.
Sebastien Loeb, gunning for his seventh consecutive World Championship on home territory in Alsace, could only manage sixth-fastest on the shakedown in his factory Citroen C4 WRC.
“I think everyone has a lot of pressure but there’s a bit more pressure than usual,” said Loeb. “But in the end I prefer just to concentrate on the rally. If the weather is like this that it could be very slippery, so I think it will be tricky.”
Former Grand Prix champion Kimi Räikkönen was ninth-fastest, setting a time just 0.7 seconds slower than Loeb. The rally gets underway at 1830 with a ceremonial start in Strasbourg.
Shakedown times:
1-Petter 1.53,4
2-Turan 1.57,7
3-Yvan 1.58,8
4-Loeb 2.02,2
5-Ogier 2.02,2
6-Sordo 2.02,7
7-Räikkönen 2.02,9
8-Latvala 2.03,6
9-Villagra 2.05,2
10-Hirvonen 2.06,4
11-Wilson 2.14,2
Source: WRC
Former World Champion Petter Solberg has claimed fastest time in the shakedown for the all-new Rallye de France, over a short asphalt stage running around the service area. The Norwegian set a best time of 1m53.4s in his privately-run Citroën C4 WRC, under cloudy skies and damp conditions. Temperatures were cool at around 11 degrees centigrade.
The stage was not especially representative of the conditions that the competitors will face over the next three days, and the times were taken by hand as the specialised equipment had already left for the first stage.
This led to quite a few surprises on the time sheets - but not too much should be read into them. World Touring Car Championship star Yvan Muller was the third-quickest driver on the shakedown, driving Solberg’s old 2006-specification Citroën Xsara WRC.
“My new team mate is not bad at all, is he?” joked Solberg. “From our point of view everything was really good, but the rally is a different thing. We came very close to winning on the last round in Japan, so we’re going to be pushing hard.”
The second-quickest car on the shakedown was Hungarian privateer Frigyes Turan in a Peugeot 307 WRC, while the Ford Fiesta Super 2000 of Henning Solberg was fourth-fastest behind Muller.
Sebastien Loeb, gunning for his seventh consecutive World Championship on home territory in Alsace, could only manage sixth-fastest on the shakedown in his factory Citroen C4 WRC.
“I think everyone has a lot of pressure but there’s a bit more pressure than usual,” said Loeb. “But in the end I prefer just to concentrate on the rally. If the weather is like this that it could be very slippery, so I think it will be tricky.”
Former Grand Prix champion Kimi Räikkönen was ninth-fastest, setting a time just 0.7 seconds slower than Loeb. The rally gets underway at 1830 with a ceremonial start in Strasbourg.
Shakedown times:
1-Petter 1.53,4
2-Turan 1.57,7
3-Yvan 1.58,8
4-Loeb 2.02,2
5-Ogier 2.02,2
6-Sordo 2.02,7
7-Räikkönen 2.02,9
8-Latvala 2.03,6
9-Villagra 2.05,2
10-Hirvonen 2.06,4
11-Wilson 2.14,2
Source: WRC
Rabu, 29 September 2010
Kimi's Column: Vive la France!
Kimi Rally France preview in Finnish
Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN
Courtesy: Nicole
We have been waiting for this race in a positive way with Kaitsu ever since the speed was nicely found in the beginning of summer in rally Bulgaria.
The season's second new tarmac rally is in France and we get a bit of leverage because the others don't have notes from the last ten years and knowledge of familiar roads. We are all on the same line there.
There was no testing after Japan but we took the rally Vosgien in France as training and to get the feeling. It went well. We got some feeling to the car and feeling to the roads, which are similar to those we are now going to drive.
We were satisfied with Kaitsu with the work we got done in that short rally. First we took it the wrong way in setups but when we went back to the basic things we found really good setups for our car.
It's always difficult to say beforehand how the race will go. Only after we get to the area and start driving hoping that we find the rhythm immediately and get a hang of it without any difficulties in the beginning.
We would have to get to the finish line without bigger blunders but you never know because unfortunately I have rallied less than these other have and it's only through experience that I can do a good result all the time.
This is a special weekend for our Citroen-team. When you drive a French car in France you get a lot of support and fans.
The French people are rally-people just like the Finns are.
Sebastien Loeb has a chance to secure his umpteenth championship and it's sure that he will do his everything so that he can win and take the title at the same time in his home rally.
We go there to do our best. We have made totally simple blunders in the last two rallies. On tarmac my feeling is immediately better because it is afterall a more familiar surface to me. At least the training rally in Italy before Bulgaria helped so hopefully the same strategy hits home there too and we get a good rhythm on France's roads.
So it's Vive la France!
Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN
Courtesy: Nicole
Jumat, 24 September 2010
PREVIEW: CITROËN JUNIOR TEAM AT RALLYE DE FRANCE
After a year’s absence, the Rallye de France returns to the FIA World Rally Championship calendar
Now based in Alsace, this new rally will allow the Citroën Junior Team to perform in front of its local crowd on home territory. Two Citroën C4 WRCs will be entered for Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström.
Following 35 World Championship events in Corsica, the Rallye de France now heads for Alsace. Based in Strasbourg, this all-new rally covers the whole region, visiting Mulhouse and Colmar (day one), Obernai (day two) and Haguenau (day three).
Although the event takes place in France, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia only have limited knowledge of the route. “I’ve not been back here since taking part in the Alsace-Vosges Rally three years ago,” pointed out Sébastien. “At the time it was just my second season in rallying, and I eventually finished second in my class after having to work my way back up through the order at the end of the event. All that feels like an age ago now!”
Having won in Portugal and Japan so far this year, Sébastien intends to use the Rallye de France to demonstrate his capabilities on asphalt. “With a new rally like this we start on an equal footing with everyone else in terms of experience,” he said. “That was the case in Bulgaria earlier this year as well, where we managed to set some good stage times. We need to make sure that we do a good job during the recce so that we are right on the pace from the very first run through the stages. I’ve got every confidence that the team will soon find the right set-up for the Citroën C4 WRC in these conditions. The goal for us is to be as close as possible to the very best…”
Kimi Räikkönen is becoming more and more competitive with every stage that he drives in the Citroën C4 WRC, and he was able to take the wheel of the car again recently at the Rallye Vosgien. The 2007 Formula One World Champion claimed his first rally victory on this former round of the French Rally Championship.
“We came to the rally to accumulate more kilometres of experience on asphalt,” explained Kimi. “It was more useful than a straightforward test, as it allowed us to try out quite a variety of special stages. The level in the World Rally Championship now is so high that you cannot afford to lose a single second. So you have to be completely ready from the very start. From what I have heard, the roads we have driven on during that practice event will be very similar to what we will find on the Rallye de France itself. It’s very positive to be able to prepare for a rally in this way.”
The Finn usually feels comfortable on asphalt, having set his first fastest stage time on the World Championship at the Rallye Deutschland. He will also have the advantage of competing on a rally that is brand new to everyone.
“This was the case in Turkey and in Bulgaria, both of which went well for us,” he added. “When we have the same amount of experience as the other crews, it’s definitely easier for us to be on the pace. Once again, this is proof that the key to it all is to stay patient and build up as much experience as possible.”
Source: Red Bull Rallye
Now based in Alsace, this new rally will allow the Citroën Junior Team to perform in front of its local crowd on home territory. Two Citroën C4 WRCs will be entered for Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström.Following 35 World Championship events in Corsica, the Rallye de France now heads for Alsace. Based in Strasbourg, this all-new rally covers the whole region, visiting Mulhouse and Colmar (day one), Obernai (day two) and Haguenau (day three).
Although the event takes place in France, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia only have limited knowledge of the route. “I’ve not been back here since taking part in the Alsace-Vosges Rally three years ago,” pointed out Sébastien. “At the time it was just my second season in rallying, and I eventually finished second in my class after having to work my way back up through the order at the end of the event. All that feels like an age ago now!”
Having won in Portugal and Japan so far this year, Sébastien intends to use the Rallye de France to demonstrate his capabilities on asphalt. “With a new rally like this we start on an equal footing with everyone else in terms of experience,” he said. “That was the case in Bulgaria earlier this year as well, where we managed to set some good stage times. We need to make sure that we do a good job during the recce so that we are right on the pace from the very first run through the stages. I’ve got every confidence that the team will soon find the right set-up for the Citroën C4 WRC in these conditions. The goal for us is to be as close as possible to the very best…”
Kimi Räikkönen is becoming more and more competitive with every stage that he drives in the Citroën C4 WRC, and he was able to take the wheel of the car again recently at the Rallye Vosgien. The 2007 Formula One World Champion claimed his first rally victory on this former round of the French Rally Championship.
“We came to the rally to accumulate more kilometres of experience on asphalt,” explained Kimi. “It was more useful than a straightforward test, as it allowed us to try out quite a variety of special stages. The level in the World Rally Championship now is so high that you cannot afford to lose a single second. So you have to be completely ready from the very start. From what I have heard, the roads we have driven on during that practice event will be very similar to what we will find on the Rallye de France itself. It’s very positive to be able to prepare for a rally in this way.”
The Finn usually feels comfortable on asphalt, having set his first fastest stage time on the World Championship at the Rallye Deutschland. He will also have the advantage of competing on a rally that is brand new to everyone.
“This was the case in Turkey and in Bulgaria, both of which went well for us,” he added. “When we have the same amount of experience as the other crews, it’s definitely easier for us to be on the pace. Once again, this is proof that the key to it all is to stay patient and build up as much experience as possible.”
Source: Red Bull Rallye
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