Kimi Räikkönen to Make NASCAR Debut in N.C. Education Lottery 200

Kimi Räikkönen and the No. 15 Perky Jerky Toyota Tundra
N.C. Education Lottery 200 Race Preview

RACE: N.C. Education Lottery 200
TRACK: Charlotte Motor Speedway
PRIMARY SPONSOR: Perky Jerky
ASSOCIATE SPONSORS: DVS Shoe Company, Flexco, M&M's,
PRIMARY CHASSIS: KBM-3
BACKUP CHASSIS: KBM-2
MANUFACTURER: Toyota
MOTORS: Triad Racing Technologies
BROADCAST: Friday, May 20 - 8:00 p.m. ET SPEED/MRN/Sirius NASCAR 90

Kimi Räikkönen to Make NASCAR Debut in N.C. Education Lottery 200
Former Formula 1 champion Kimi Räikkönen will make his NASCAR debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200 Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Räikkönen will pilot his first laps around a NASCAR oval as a teammate to team owner Kyle Busch, from behind the wheel of the No. 15 Perky Jerky Toyota Tundra.

"I'm excited to do my first-ever NASCAR race; it will be fun to compete against other drivers on the track again,"said Räikkönen, referring to only racing against the clock in World Rally Cars. "This is a new experience for me - - let's see what happens."

Räikkönen is scheduled to address the media following the conclusion of final practice, Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET, in the media center at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Finnish driver comes to NASCAR with a resume that includes the 2007 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship. Over his nine year career in Formula 1, he registered 18 wins and 62 podium finishes. The 31-year old is currently competing for a World Rally Car Championship for his own team, ICE1RACING.

Source: Kylebuschmotorsport.com
Courtesy: miezicat

Kimi's Column: MORE THAN ENOUGH OF CHALLENGES

Kimi Jordan Rally preview in Finnish

Okay, so I went to drive a NASCAR-test. It was completely super awesome. That serie is a completely different world and everything is new for us who are used to drive elsewhere. It's interesting and challenging to go there.

But now we are driving rally again. It is after all 'our thing' at the moment.

Jordan is one of the most trickiest gravel rallies. We were here last year so we have some kind of understanding over what we can expect this weekend. So far being in the same rally for the second time has helped us and it's 100% sure that we have an advantage of it in Jordan too.

I have a pleasant image from Portugal's gravel. Once we recovered from *** No swearing *** up the setups - the whole front of the car was too high - the car felt good in the final games.

It's going to be exciting to see how it goes now. This rally is as challenging as challenging can be. The roads are hard gravel and loose sand. The weather is quite warm too. You don't seem to find any focusing points from the terrain. Fortunately I have learned to make and understand notes better and better all the time. They are really important in this rally.

They have warfare going on nearby but it's peaceful in Jordan. We all wish that the rally could be pulled through without any incidents.

Our goal is once again to get through the route without making any bad blunders. Last time we came in 8th in Jordan. They were our first points.

We are now going there to see if we can improve our position. It's going to be a tough twist since the group is so even at this point.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM

Courtesy: Nicole

VODAFONE RALLY PORTUGAL 2011 - PREVIEW: Van Merksteijn joins Solberg and Räikkönen

For the first time, five Citroën DS3 WRCs will compete in a round of the World Rally Championship

Petter Solberg, Kimi Räikkönen and Peter van Merksteijn Jr are racing under their own colours in Rally Portugal in cars that are identical to those run by the Citroën Total World Rally Team. These have been put at their disposal by Citroën Racing Technologies.

For several seasons, Citroën Racing has been developing its activities in the World Rally Championship through Citroën Racing Technologies. This back-up programme for privateers at the top level is continuing in 2011 with the Citroën DS3 WRC.

“The changes in the regulations have forced all the drivers to enter the latest generation WRCs,” says Benoit Nogier, the Citroën Racing Technologies director. “Citroën Racing has decided to provide Citroën DS3 WRCs for privateers. These cars have the same specification as the works cars and comply with the same homologation sheet.”

Petter Solberg and Kimi Räikkönen began their season in the World Rally Championship in Sweden. The Norwegian finished fifth (with three fastest times) and the Finn scored the points that went with eighth place.

In Mexico, Solberg just missed out on a podium finish (five fastest times) after leading the rally in the early stages. In the third round of the championship in Portugal, Petter Solberg, Kimi Räikkönen and Peter van Merksteijn Jr all have very different aims in their Citroën DS3 WRCs.

Petter Solberg (Petter Solberg World Rally Team): “I always enjoy rallying in Portugal. The event is both quick and very technical and suits me good. We learned a lot about the car on gravel in Mexico, and also learned a lot during our test day here in Portugal. As usual, I want to finish on the podium, and I know we have the speed to do so. Crossing my fingers for a problem free rally.”

Kimi Räikkönen (Ice 1 Racing): “We made a good start to the championship in the Swedish Rally. We were closer to the leaders than last year. But we’re still learning. Since then we’ve taken part in a test day to get to grips with the car on gravel. It feels good and I can’t wait to be at the start of the Portuguese Rally.”

Peter van Merksteijn Junior (Van Merksteijn Motorsport): “I was able to get used to the car in a two-day test. We ran through a wide range of setups. The DS3 WRC is a bit like a kart as it reacts immediately to the slightest input from the driver. The car really made a big impression on me as did the team, which is very professional. I’m really looking forward to tackling my first rally of the season.”

Source: RedBullRallye

RALLY SWEDEN – 10-13/02/2011 – PREVIEW

After the Xsara WRCs and the C4 WRCs, both crowned with triple titles, Citroën Racing is launching the DS3 WRC on the roads of the FIA World Rally Championship

The Citroën DS3 WRC that complies with the new regulations drawn up by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile is a real package of Creative Technology.
The DS3 WRC is shorter and more compact than the previous cars, and is powered by a new 1600 cm3 direct injection turbo engine designed in-house by Citroën Racing. This new generation of World Rally Cars puts the emphasis on driving skills after the suppression of the central differential, and the return of a mechanical gear selection mechanism.

Back for their eleventh season as a Citroën works crew, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena are starting the year with all the hunger of young chargers out to score their first victory! The Franco-Monegasque pair, 7-time world champions on the trot, are bubbling with enthusiasm on the eve of this new challenge. Alongside them are Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, who won their place in the Citroën Total World Rally Team during a more than promising 2010 season.

Rally Sweden, the first of the thirteen rounds on the 2011 calendar, is a unique event. It is the only one run on snow, and for a long time it was an exclusively Scandinavian hunting ground. Since the year of its first running, 1950, only one driver has beaten the Vikings on their home turf, Sébastien Loeb, who won it the same year as he racked up his first world title!

The route of the 2011 rally goes through the regions of Värmland and Dalarna, and the service park is in Hagfors. The event even makes a brief foray into Norwegian territory (Lovhaugen, SS4/7).

With just a few days to go to the first round, Olivier Quesnel, the Citroën Racing Team Principal, is champing at the bit: “We can’t wait to see the first times to find out if the team has done a good job. However, Rally Sweden isn’t really representative of the difficulties we’ll have to face during the season. Our crews know what they have to do and they have my full confidence to come out on top in this new campaign.”

Stage of the season. The 4.16-km Gustavsfors (SS22) special will be televised live, and 3, 2 and 1 points will be awarded to the first three for the Drivers’ and Co- Drivers’ Championships.

Two more Citroën DS3 WRCs are entered for Petter Solberg / Chris Patterson and Kimi Räikkönen / Kaj Lindström. Each crew has covered 250 km on two stretches representative of the Swedish route. Solberg has been able to adapt the car to his driving style, and he is both delighted and enthused by the performance of the new engine. Räikkönen was happy with the DS3 balance and handling on his first test; he ran through
the different setups and will start the rally with the closest options to those of the works team.

Source: RedBullRallye

KIMI READY FOR WET AND WILD STAGES IN WALES

Red Bull Rally Great Britain preview

Kimi Räikkönen, backed by Red Bull on the World Rally Championship this year, was exactly one month and four days old when the legendary Hannu Mikkola won what was then called the RAC Rally in 1979: a four-day marathon up and down the length of Great Britain in wet and wintry conditions, featuring 56 special stages and 687 competitive kilometres.

Kimi won't have noticed the first time that the Rally Great Britain came into his life as he could not even walk, let alone drive. But several years later this fact would go on to have an immense significance, as Mikkola is one of the many Finnish rally heroes who inspired Kimi to go beyond his comfort zone and step inside a rally car.

Mikkola was one of the flying Finns who made the specialised forests of Great Britain their own, along with Henri Toivonen, Markku Alen, Tommi Makinen and Marcus Gronholm; to name just a few examples. In fact, a Finn has won in Great Britain 21 times in the 65-year history of the event.

In his first year of the World Rally Championship Kimi certainly won't be challenging for victory in Wales, but nonetheless all these icons of the sport have made their mark on the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion.

"Rallying is like a national sport in Finland: since I was a kid I followed it and I grew up with all these big names who were right at the front," he said. "So rallying is something that I always wanted to try: it was not at all a sudden decision. At the end of last year the opportunity came up so I was very happy to take it. Our season has not gone entirely according to plan, but this is actually what I expected: it's completely normal when you are learning something so new. But I've really enjoyed it. Not so many people get the chance to compete at this level and I want to use all the lessons I have learned this year. I'm sure that Rally Great Britain is going to be a very tricky way to end the season because I hear that the grip is changing all the time and I know that the weather is going to be bad, but you learn more by pushing yourself to the limit. I'm looking forward to it a lot."

The limit is a place that Kimi has always been fascinated to explore, and in Rally Great Britain he will face the possibility of torrential rain, freezing fog and maybe even patches of ice. Or possibly all three at the same time. As always though, he is able to rely on co-driver Kaj Lindstrom to guide him through all the potential pitfalls. Kaj has plenty of experience of Great Britain, having even taken part in - and won - the British Rally Championship.

"A bit like Finland, rallying is really part of the local culture in Britain," added Kaj. "There's always a really enthusiastic crowd of spectators, and wherever we go we get massive support. We'll need it, as these are some of the most difficult stages of the year. If it rains the surfaces just turn into mud and it becomes almost impossibly slippery. Once more, the aim here is simply for us to get to the finish, so this will be the priority. We're here to learn and so we have to get through all the stages."

Kimi and Kaj will also have an opportunity to see some of the famed Welsh countryside this weekend as remote service is in Builth Wells, towards the middle of Wales. Rather than producing rally cars the little town is more famous for producing calves, as service is held inside one the biggest cattle markets in Wales: even bigger than the main street of Cardiff on a Saturday night...

Source: RallyBuzz

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN AND THE CITROËN JUNIOR TEAM, PREVIEW WALES : The end of an era!

With the new World Rally Car regulations coming in for next year, the Citroën C4 WRC will end its career on the Rally Great Britain, the final round of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship

Dani Sordo/Diego Vallejo and Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström will represent the Citroën Junior Team, with the aim of sealing third place in the manufacturers’ championship.
Rally Great Britain is the 13th round of the year and one of the iconic events of the World Rally Championship.

It traditionally rounds off the season, although this year both the drivers’ and the manufacturers’ titles have already been decided. But the Citroën Junior Team is still aiming to secure third place in the manufacturers’ title race (which has already been won by the Citroën Total World Rally Team*) while both Dani Sordo and Kimi Räikkönen have the chance to improve their final position in the drivers’ rankings.

Dani Sordo heads into the final rally of the year lying fifth in the championship, having taken five podiums from the last seven events, and the Spaniard is hoping for a strong finish to the season. “This is a particularly difficult rally, but I’ve manage to set some good times there in the past,” he pointed out. “This year, I want to be right in the fight for victory.”

Sordo has ended up with two podiums from his last two participations in the Rally Great Britain. “The weather conditions will play a big part,” he added. “If the roads stay dry, this is going to be an extremely fast rally. If it rains though, the stages will rapidly turn into mud and it will become the most slippery event of the year. We need to get off to a good start, as I’m sure that the pace will be quick from the very beginning. Everyone wants to win the last rally of the year.”

Having scored 21 points, Kimi Räikkönen is currently 10th in the World Championship following the 10 rallies that he has taken part in. The Finn will be back on gravel in Wales: a surface on which he scored points in Jordan, Turkey and Portugal.

"We knew that our first learning year would be a bit like this,” pointed out Kimi. “Like any driver starting off in a completely new discipline that is as specialised as rallying, I’ve had my ups and downs. I imagine that Wales will be no different. We’re going to work hard during the recce. We need to make sure that we set off at a decent pace and then gradually reduce the gap to the frontrunners as the rally goes on. Our rivals will have more experience than us on these roads, although Kaj knows some of the stages. If that means that we can keep making the pace notes in the same way as before, it’s definitely a small bonus.”

The rally route has changed slightly compared to last year. A new superspecial stage (Cardiff Bay) will kick off the action on Thursday night. The first day is a repeat of 2009. But the second day returns to some older stages such as Radnor Forest, which was last used in 1999. On the final day, the Resolfen and Margam Park stages are also slightly modified.

Source: Red Bull Rallye

Brazilian GP preview - Stefano Domenicali

Source: ferrariworld

Sao Paulo from the cockpit - Red Bull previews the Brazilian GP

It’s a track dear to Mark’s heart after his stunning victory there in 2009, while Seb relishes the unique atmosphere and the challenge Sao Paolo presents. Here are the boys’ thoughts ahead of this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix...

Mark Webber: “Brazil is one of the best tracks of the year in terms of the atmosphere. The Brazilians are fully into their motorsports and have had lot of world champions in the past. I obviously have good memories from last year, it was a nice race to win and we will clearly be trying to get another victory this year. It’s now coming to a pivotal stage of the Championship and we need to make the most of every opportunity we can.”

Sebastian Vettel: “There are a lot of positive things about the upcoming event in Brazil. The circuit is fantastic and the spectators are passionate about racing; the atmosphere during a race is great and the city is interesting. The Interlagos track is a challenging one for the drivers because it’s anti-clockwise which, after a season of racing on clockwise circuits, puts a strain on your neck muscles. Also the big bumps are demanding. The circuit requires good aero-efficiency which should suit the RB6 although the long, uphill start-finish straight will give an advantage to the more powerful engines. It’s always a challenging circuit and the weather often plays a part."

Source: Red Bull

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi: Press Preview

Source: ItaliaspeedTV

Kimi's Column: One more year of age and speed

Kimi Rally Catalunya Preview

I had my birthday on Sunday. That means one more year of age – and hopefully some more spped, too. Well, let’s have a try. This weekend it’s time for the Rally Catalunya. Obviously, I don’t know how it goes, but it should suit us better than a couple of last rallies.

Me and my co-driver Kaj Lindstrom are heading there with a good feeling. My learning year will go on as usual, but, generally taken, this should be one of better rallies for me.

I hope it won’t be raining. It would be fantastic finally to get to the good and clean roads with the RedBull Citroen C4 WRC.

This is the same story again, but, for sure, the leaders get their usual advantage having done most of these stages so many times in previous years. But also Kaj has been there before and that should help us a little bit. In the end of the day you cannot use the old pace notes too much, but knowing the roads is a certain bonus where to build on.

We start the rally with the car we left in France, while we had no tests before going to Spain. Sebastien Loeb clinched his title in the last rally, but it doesn’t change that much the situation. Everybody tries to go as hard as they can and it will be tight in the front and will be tight in the group behind them.

The opening day has been changed, while it will be on gravel almost all the first special stages. How big change that is, I can’t tell, but one thing I know: it will give busy time for the engineers and mechanics while we have to change the set-up of the car so totally from gravel to asphalt.

But it won’t be any different driving for me. My target is the same like always: first to get a nice, good rhythm, then to keep the car in one piece all three days and then finish the rally without any major mistakes.

Last couple of rallies have not been that good for us. But it’’s useless to worry too much afterwards. The mistakes have been done and all I can do is to learn from them for the future. I know, sometimes such a minor error can cause on huge waste of time. But it’s up to experience to improve and that’s what I try to do all the time when I race.

Now we focus on this rally in Spain. I have always enjoyed it very much while I was with Formula INe in Barcelona. Let’s hope it will be a nice weekend there with WRC, too.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: _TaniaS_

KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN - PREVIEW SPAIN 2010

This weekend, Red Bull driver Kimi Räikkönen will travel from Mexico to Polynesia to China to the Wild West. And he's not even going to leave Spain once

This geographic miracle is made possible by the fact that the Rally de Espana, also known to fans as the Catalunya Rally, is based in the Port Aventura theme park: Europe's answer to the famous Universal Studios in America. All these exotic regions of the world are represented in the park, thanks to stomach-churning rides such as the Grand Canyon Rapids, Furius Baco (the fastest rollercoaster in Europe with a top speed of 135kph) and the Dragon Khan (another rollercoaster, this time featuring eight inversions). Hold onto your paella...

Kimi's rally diet will be equally mixed, because the Rally de Espana takes in both asphalt and gravel surfaces this year. On Friday, the drivers will compete on gravel roads, whereas on Saturday and Sunday the surface will be the more typical fast and flowing asphalt that Spain's round of the World Rally Championship is famous for.

It is often said that the Catalunya Rally is the closest that world rallying comes to circuit racing. Kimi, knows a few things about racing thanks to his 18 Grand Prix wins, does not entirely agree. But like most of the events this year, it will be a brand new experience for the 'ice man'. So what does he think?

"I don't know the rally at all, but the route doesn't look like any race circuit I've ever seen, although I've heard some people say it's similar!" he joked before starting the recce. "This year it's going to be completely different too as the first day is gravel. But I think it's quite nice to have the variety on this event, even though gravel is not our strongest surface. In the end we'll just do our best and try not to make any mistakes, which has been our goal since the start of the year. It should be a very interesting rally that teaches us a lot, but I don't think we should have expectations that are too high. If we can be near the top six then that would be great, but the main is just to get to the end. If you go like crazy on the first day and go off, then you don't learn anything. And that's why I'm here: to learn."

Kaj Lindstrom, the man who reads Kimi his notes, has plenty of experience to pass on in Spain. But as Kaj points out, Kimi has been pretty good at teaching himself too. "Kimi's obviously been used to winning in Formula One all the time, and now in rallying he starts from scratch,'" said the Finn. "It can't be easy, having to go back to basics when you're a World Champion. But I've been really impressed by his attitude. He takes in absolutely everything and if you consider what he's achieved despite his lack of experience, it's pretty impressive. Hopefully Spain will be good for us: Kimi should be more comfortable on the asphalt roads of Saturday and Sunday."

The Rally de Espana is based in the popular tourist resort of Salou, an hour's drive south of Barcelona on the Costa Daurada. While the town is normally famous for buckets, spades and beaches, the coming weekend is going to be a long way from being a holiday for Kimi, Kaj and all the other intrepid Red Bull-backed World Rally Championship crews...

Source: RedBullRallye

CITROËN JUNIOR TEAM IN SPAIN 2010 - A PREVIEW

The Citroën Junior Team starts round 12 of the season with two objectives: sealing third place in the World Rally Championship for manufacturers and allowing Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia to defend their second place in the drivers’ standings. In the team’s second Citroën C4 WRC Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström will also be aiming to make their mark on Catalan asphalt

Mixed-surface events are gradually coming back to the FIA World Rally Championship. After one day of the 2009 Cyprus Rally that was held on asphalt and a Rally of Turkey this year that mixed some asphalt sections on an all-gravel route, the Spanish round of the World Championship also brings a new dimension to the end of the year.

On Friday, the crews will face a stage that is 100% gravel (SS2/5 La Ribera d’Ebre) and two mixed surface stages. The first stage of the loop, Terra Alta (35.94 km) is 73% gravel. The final stage, Les Garrigues (17.28 km) is split equally between sealed and loose surfaces.
The two Citroën C4 WRCs will be in gravel configuration on the first day, but will be put into full asphalt specification for Saturday and Sunday during a long service halt (1h15m) on Friday evening.

Citroën Junior Team manager Benoit Nogier commented: “There’s going to be a lot of work to convert our Citroën C4 WRCs from gravel to asphalt specification. We’ve prepared for this service halt especially so that we can be both quick and efficient. The team will be embarking on two 75-minute sessions, which in theory gives us enough time to do everything we need to do…as long as all goes according to plan.”

The two Citroën Junior Team crews each spent a day testing in the south of France in order to prepare for the penultimate round of the season. Sébastien Ogier reported : “The roads were damp. It wasn’t ideal for us to work on the set-up but it was really important to get the kilometres in for both myself and Kimi, who was asking me a lot of questions so that we could compare our impressions.”

“We’ll start second on the road for day one so we’ll certainly suffer a bit with road-sweeping,” continued Sébastien. “We’ll just need to stay in touch and not lose too much time compared to the drivers who are starting behind us. This first mixed day could well play an absolutely crucial role in the final classification. My objective is to finish runner-up in the World Championship and so I need a good result in Spain.”

“It’s another step into the unknown,” added Kimi. “I don’t really know if our start position will be a help or a disadvantage. On the gravel, we will maybe have a clean line to help us but the asphalt sections might be very dirty. It will be vital for us to come out of the first day without making any mistakes so that we are in a good position for the rest of the rally.”

Source: RedBullRallye
Courtesy: momo

Kimi's Column: Vive la France!

Kimi Rally France preview in Finnish

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

RED BULL ON STAGE. RALLYE DE FRANCE - PREVIEW KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN

KIMI EMBRACES LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND FRATERNITY IN FRANCE

Red Bull Rallye de France preview

The French national motto will be a good one for Red Bull driver Kimi Raikkonen as he discovers new territory on the Rallye de France this weekend: the first time that the event is being run in Alsace after several years in Corsica.

Liberty: After showing great pace on the last all-new round of the World Rally Championship, in Bulgaria, Kimi is free to demonstrate just what he is capable of on the surface that he is most familiar with. Or, to be accurate, the surface that he is least unfamiliar with.

Equality: Kimi will be driving the same Citroen C4 WRC as the great Sebastien Loeb, who has been undefeated on asphalt since 2004. The same record stands for Citroen, which is the car to beat on sealed surfaces.

Fraternity: Once more, Kimi will be part of the extended Red Bull and Citroen family as it celebrates its home event and very possibly a seventh consecutive drivers' title for Loeb. The rally runs through Loeb's native Alsace, so there's bound to be a good party with plenty of Red Bull cocktails afterwards.

Apart from that, Kimi has little idea of what to expect, although he did join the ranks of rally winners two weeks ago by triumphing on the Rallye Vosgien: a small national event in France that contains similar stages to those he will see this weekend.

Experience is what it is all about for Kimi this year, and he is hoping that the knowledge he gained in Sebastien Loeb's back garden will help him when he faces the rest of the WRC field on what will still only be his 10th World Rally Championship event in the Citroen C4 WRC.

"It's not easy, that's for sure," said Raikkonen. "But I'm hoping that we can have a good result in France. If we can show the same sort of pace like we did in Bulgaria, in the top five, then that would be really good. The problem is that it's always hard to predict a result when you don't know anything about what the route is going to be like, so we'll just concentrate very hard on the recce to end up with the best set of pace notes possible. Generally we've improved in every area since the start of the season and I feel a lot more comfortable now, so we're hoping to continue our progress this weekend. France is obviously a really important event for Citroen so I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun: a bit like driving for Ferrari at Monza!"

Co-driver Kaj Lindstrom, who has sat alongside Kimi since the Finn made his world rally debut in a Super 2000 car on the Rally Finland last year, is also looking forward to the weekend, although he's not expecting a French revolution.

"We're learning step by step; I think sometimes people forget that this is only Kimi's first year in rallying and that nobody has ever walked straight into the very top level to compete against the very best with no experience before," said Kaj. "Kimi's been doing very well, and I'm sure that he can improve again in France. Asphalt is obviously a surface that he knows a bit better, and together we'll be working on putting together a good set of pace notes during the recce so that Kimi can make the most of his talent on the stages."

Rallye de France is based in Strasbourg: the seat of the European Parliament and the second-largest port on the Rhine River, after Duisburg in Germany.

Source: RedBullRallye

Singapore to suit Red Bull car

Sebastian Vettel: “As a night race, Singapore is an unforgettable event. It’s important to manage the time difference, so I try to sleep until the afternoon so my body thinks it’s still in Europe. The circuit has 23 corners so it’s extremely important for the driver to find a good rhythm without touching the barriers. Besides that, this circuit is hard on the brakes and it has a lot of kerbs; the resulting bumpiness demands extreme concentration from the driver. I think Singapore offers a great show for the Formula one fans, the cars come across on the TV like they’re in a computer game and the scenery is amazing.”

Mark Webber: “I like Singapore; it’s unique as we race at night. You get the impression the crowd is pretty close to the track in most sections, so it’s certainly cosy. I’m hoping to improve on last year’s result, as it’s a high down-force street circuit that should suit our car. It’s got some similarities to Monaco and Budapest and we did well at both those circuits, so I’m hoping for a strong result. We’ve yet to experience any wet running on a flood-lit track, so it will be interesting if that happens.”

Source: NextGenAuto

KIMI RETURNS TO THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN

The place: Japan. The year: 2005. The Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, nearly 1000 kilometres south of Rally Japan's base in Sapporo, was once the scene of one of Kimi Raikkonen's most breath-taking Formula One victories

After a wet qualifying session, Kimi started the race from 17th on the grid. He then worked his spectacular way through the field to overtake the leader on the final lap. It was just like Days of Thunder.

Kimi is going to need another Hollywood-style performance this weekend in Japan now that he has switched to rallying, but he is realistic enough to know that there will be no fairytale victory this time. In fact, just getting to the end of the notoriously tough and specialised stages of Rally Japan will be a triumph in itself.

The challenge is enormous: there will be mud and slippery braking areas, over roads so fast and narrow that no mistake goes unpunished. For an absolute beginner - and this will only be Kimi's ninth WRC event in the Red Bull Citroen C4 WRC - Japan is one of the hardest rallies to master. The weather rarely helps: after all, the island of Hokkaido is a skiing area that is on the same latitude as Siberia. Sunglasses probably won't be necessary this weekend.

"It's certainly going to be very different to the Japanese Grand Prix, which is my only other experience of Japan!" said Kimi. "We've got to be really careful here: it sounds so easy to make a mistake, and also the grip level is meant to be quite inconsistent - which is not an easy thing to get used to, particularly when you come from a circuit racing background. When we won the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005 it was certainly tough, but there's no doubt that this is going to be even tougher. Apart from that I don't really know what to expect, so our priority is to get to the end. When you have rallies that are as specialised as this one, it becomes even more important to have experience of the roads."

Precision is the name of the game in Japan, and one person who can certainly help Kimi with this is the man sat alongside him: co-driver Kaj Lindstrom. Kaj has competed on Rally Japan just once before, but he is aiming to make sure that none of his slickly delivered pace notes get lost in translation on the stages around Sapporo.

"I think this is going to be one of the most difficult rallies that we face all year," said Kaj. "It's also a great opportunity for us though to build on the work that we've done with the pace notes, which have to be absolutely exact in Japan. Getting the notes right is always one of the hardest things for any racing driver to get used to and Kimi has been doing really well. On the last rally we set our first fastest stage time together, so it's a good sign that things are moving in the right direction."

The action for Kimi on Rally Japan already gets underway tomorrow night (Tuesday) when he will race an electric go-kart capable of 130kph at a Red Bull event in the Sapporo Dome, which hosted the football World Cup back in 2002. Now the famous Dome is home to Sapporo's football team, as well as the unusually named Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters baseball squad...

Source: RedBullRallye

Kimi German Rally preview in Finnish: A CONCRETE RIDE

I know the team hopes that we could make it through German Rally without mistakes. It's the season's second tarmac rally and our ride should be enough for us to reach quite good results.

I had drove in Jyskälä once before. From now on this season's remaining rallies are all completely new places to me.

Even though Germany is once again a completely new rally for me it still feels cool to get back on tarmac. Bulgaria was mostly promising but it doesn't help one bit now. This is a completely different rally. In Germany they drive a lot on concrete instead of on tarmac and from what I've heard it's a damn slippery road.

There's been talk about the notes every time, about how important they are and how difficult it is to learn them. I don't need anyone highlighting to me how noting would has to succeed really well in this rally and how I have to be extra careful with it.

I'm sure that the really long stage that I haven't drove with a rally car ever before is going to be pretty cool. It's about 50 km long and when you take the stages twice it will be an enormous amount of all the SS-kilometers.

It might get quite hot inside the cockpit and you know that the experience the top dudes have will only shine through better than before.

It's a clear thing that it is a place where it's important to drive without making mistakes. You can win or lose really big time.

We tested a couple of times in Germany. The car worked, everything went well and we found new setups again.

From the formula-times Germany isn't a place for me that I would like to remember. Something always went wrong.

Now we take off with a rally car and without those strains. The most important thing is to drive the race from the beginning to the end in a clean way. That is my number one wish and it's great if it happens. We need badly more kilometers in our meter so that we can get more experience which is what we need the most at this stage. After Jyskälä we had time to chill out. We rode trial, played golf and trained every day.

Now we are ready. We will see on Sunday how it went for us.

Source: Kimiraikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi's Column: A Concrete challenge

Kimi German Rally Preview

It's time we are heading for Germany. They say it's a tarmac surface, but most of all, for me, it brings a new challenge to go fast on the concrete roads, too.

Obviously, I know well the Red Bull Citroën Junior Team us to get through the weekend without mistakes and errors. This is the second tarmac rally of the season. We should heve the pace for the good result - as long as we avoid the biggerish mistakes.

In Rally Finland I got the luxury of having done it once before. But the rest of the season I have just all new places to go rallying.

Well, Germany Rally is a brand new race for me, but still it feels nicer to get back to the tarmac rally. Most of the time in Bulgaria was very encouraging for us. But as well we know, it's not helping a single bit this time.

German Rally is so different compared to the stages in Bulgaria. Instead of a whole tarmac rally we have plenty of miles on the roads surfaced with concrete. What I've heard, they are very slippery and we have to handle il with care down there.

Obviously, there is a lot talking of the pace notes in every rally, but this time it's even more important to get them perfecly right. We have to very precise and very careful with making the pace notes for this rally.

The most extreme points is the 48 kilometre special stage. It's the longest stage we'll have with these WRC cars. While you do that twice, it's almost one third of the total of the special stage kilometres in this rally.

I presume, it's going to be pretty hot in the cabin in that stage and, for sure, it will show the importance of the experience much more than in any other place. Obviously, it's the stage you'll win or lose in a big way, too.

After Rally Finland we had a couple of tests in Germany. Everything went well. The car felt good and we found some new settings for this rally.

Germany has never been good place for me, while I raced in Formula One. There was not a single weekend, we got everything nicely together. Always something went wrong.

But I'm not going to take any pressure of the old times. This is a different kind of a challenge and my number one hope is to finish the rally without any major hiccups. If we managed to do it, fine. We need all the miles available to clinch more the rallying experience we need so much in this point of my racing career.

After Jyväskylä I chilled out a little while with trial and golf. Of course, I trained every day to be ready for this new interesting rally event. Let's wait and see what we manage to achieve this time.

Source: Kimiraikkonen.com

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

Kimi's column: TO THE HOME RACE IN FIRST CLASS

Kimi Finnish Rally preview in Finnish

I've been waiting for this for so long when being in motorsport and now I finally get to drive for the first time in the very first class a World Championship-race in Finland. We drove in Jyväskylä with Kaitsu last year already but you can't compare it to this. This WRC-car is a completely different machine than the 2000 was a year ago. The speeds a insanely much harder.

In F1 somewhere in Hungary the benches were filled with Finland's flags but it's completely different to drive a real home race. We are in high feelings when there are lots of people coming to the jubilee-rally and all of us Finnish drivers will get a lot of support alongside the route.

This is my highlight of the season. A home race still means the most for every driver.

It was a little helpful that we have already drove through the route. The basics are done.

Pace noting has started to go better all the time.

Oh well, we didn't finish the rally last time because of that tiny screw-up on Saturday night during the last stage in Väärinmaja. This time the same spot won't be lurking. Now I have that sort of a machine that goes a lot faster.

I just have to be really sharp so that the car stays on the road.

We got a really good testing under the belt again. Everything worked insanely well and we got the car better. I dig these roads. This is now the 7th WRC-rally this year and after so many starts it becomes all the time more easier to understand how to work on the car.

It's way more cooler to jump in the cabin and start pushing the home race when I have chances to drive faster than last year. It won't yet change the fact that even though we go faster, the dudes in the front go insanely fast when compared to others.

We are again going to follow the same scheme. For us the most important thing is that we finish the rally. That's the only way to score points and we want them. It's completely realistic to be in positions 5-10 with an even performance provided we don't screw up. It's a good goal.

Kankkunen's Juha is making a comeback and it's really interesting to see what his pace is. He has drove Jyskälä 20 times so nothing there will suprise him in any way. Welcome back!

Source: kimiraikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole