Kimi Ready To Rally Again This Weekend *Result Updated*

From Formula1.com | RallyLink.it | Photos: Simone Grillo & 26th Rally de Marca Photo Album |

After an impressive debut performance in January’s arduous Arctic
Lapland Rally – he finished 13th – it seems Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen
has caught the rallying bug. Swapping the snow of Finland for Italian
tarmac, this weekend Raikkonen will take part in the annual Rally della
Marca alongside co-driver Kaj Lindstrom.

“I’ll race in a rally
in Italy, in the Marca Trevigiana, and I want to thank the Scuderia
that they gave me the possibility to take part in such a competition,”
Raikkonen told Ferrari’s official website. “I really enjoy myself and
it will be my first experience on the tarmac after some tests on snow
last winter.

The shakedown for the Italian event will take place
on Friday, ahead of Saturday’s race. "As I’m coming from the race track
it will be interesting to see what I will be able to do behind the
wheel of the Fiat Grande Punto S2000 on the roads close to Treviso,” he
added.

Raikkonen heads to the rally on a high, after his return
to the podium at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. The Finn, who last
finished in the top three at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, believes
that the team’s efforts are starting to pay off and that a race win in
2009 is now a real possibility, if they continue to improve the F60.

“Being
back on the podium is a nice reward for the whole team,” he added. “The
hard work of the last few weeks has finally borne some fruit, which is
really positive for all of us. We know that we’re on the right way now.
There are still some minor things to be done but sooner or later we
will win.

"We’ll show up with further improvements of the F60 in
the upcoming races and we hope we can then challenge the leaders even
more, in the qualifying and in the race.”

Kimi’s rally experiences to date:
Arctic Lapland Rally (January 2009) Finished 13th
Vaakuna Mikkelli (February 2009) Finished 17th
Rally de Marca (May 2009) Starting position: 15th | Retired due to accident during race.

---

30th May 2009 – Rally de Marca: Kimi Damages Car and Retires

Results & News
Kimi Crashes in Third Stage of Rally – Kamastaff.it | Kimi Fined During Rally Test – Il Secolo XIX.it | Further reports: Marcaracing.it | Motorsport.com

From WRC.com
Kimi Raikkonen’s first attempt at asphalt rallying came to a
premature end on Saturday when a mechanical problem led to his
retirement from the Rally della Marca.

The Ferrari Formula One
star was driving his own Abarth Grande Punto S2000 on the Italian
rally, but was affected from the start by a broken centre differential.

The Finn struggled through two stages but stopped on the third
after his car’s wayward handling contributed to an impact with a wall
which broke a rear track control arm.

Raikkonen was co-driven by Kaj Lindstrom, the man who formerly partnered multiple WRC champion Tommi Makinen.

Lindstrom
told wrc.com it was a disappointing way to end an event which had
looked promising. “We tested on Tuesday last week and Kimi was doing so
well, his driving was really impressive,” he said. “You can see how he
can go 300kph a F1 car. He knows how to take the fast corners and he
knows that sometimes the tyres slide a bit and he’s not upset with
that. He’s good on snow and gravel but certainly very talented on
tarmac.”

The problems started as the pair drove to the pre-event
shakedown. “We knew something was wrong with the car and when the boys
had a look they found the centre diff was broken,” he said. “They
changed it for the rally but apparently it broke again, for reasons we
don’t yet know. The car wasn’t working properly even on the first
stage. It was like driving a rear-wheel drive car, but then every now
and then you’d get full four-wheel drive and the front wheels would
pull. It was very inconsistent and made the handling nervous –
especially under braking.

“We did two stages, and then 4km into
the third the car went off under braking and hit a concrete wall with a
rear corner, breaking the lower control arm. We carried on for about
7km but we had to stop.”

Lindstrom said Raikkonen had coped
with the situation well, and hinted that more rally outings were on the
cards. “After the impact he said he wasn’t that upset because the car
wasn’t performing as it should be,” said Lindstrom. “Even after the
first stage we had given away a lot of time. It would have been a
different story if the car had been okay. Looking forward, yeah, there
is a plan. I’d say it’s most likely he will do more rallies this year.”

Videos: courtesy of marcopiazza1980, rnoux and TaniaS.