From WRC.com
World Rally
Championship convert Kimi Raikkonen will make his competitive debut in
a Citroen C4 on January’s Arctic Lapland Rally – a fortnight before his
2010 WRC campaign kicks off in Sweden.
Based from Rovaniemi, on
the edge of the Arctic Circle, the event, the opening round of the
Finnish championship, has been run for 45 years and is sometimes used
as a test for the winter rallies in the WRC. Previous winners include
former WRC champions Marcus Gronholm, Tommi Makinen and Hannu Mikkola.
Raikkonen
made his rally debut on the snowy event earlier this year, finishing
13th in a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 co-driven by Kaj Lindstrom.
The pair will tackle next year’s edition, which starts on 29 January,
in the same C4 World Rally Car they will use on 12 rounds of the WRC.
Contracted
to Ferrari until the end of 2009, Raikkonen is limited in what he can
say about his rally programme until the New Year and confirmed the
appearance via a statement on his website.
However speaking
exclusively to wrc.com, Lindstrom felt the Arctic would be invaluable
experience for Kimi, who is yet to drive a Citroen C4 World Rally Car.
Lindstrom
said: "Getting the Arctic Rally in our programme was a key factor – we
really wanted to include it as a pre-season test. It’s a rally that
Kimi and I have already done together in the Fiat, so he knows the
stages – more or less – and it will be a good opportunity for him to
build confidence in his driving and the pace notes.
"He hasn’t
had the experience of listening to, or working with, pace notes since
rally Finland. As far as I know the route for the Artic this year will
be same as it was last year, so we can use the old notes, and that will
be very useful preparation – both for Sweden and the championship," he
added.
Lindstrom revealed a test in Finland before the Arctic
Rally was also being discussed, to help Raikkonen make the transition
from his Super 2000 Fiat to a turbocharged World Rally Car.
"The
ideal would be to return to the test roads [near Jyvaskyla] we used
before the Arctic and Rally Finland this year," he said. "Kimi knows
those stages well now, so that would be the ideal place to get to grips
with the new car. That’s what we’d like, but at this stage we haven’t
agreed a plan with Citroen. We’ll find out more in the New Year."
FUCK ISRAEL 
Reading this note the only thing that came to my mind was the Black Eyed Peas song "I got a feeling" :-)!!!! Here we go, here we go!!! Yeeeiii!!! Keep Flying Kimi!!!!!
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can’t wait for it. wheeee. keep flying kimi~
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won’t be long before this event comes around!!getting quite excited now, even more so than usual, won’t be long before we get to see his car! 😀
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hope we can have good moment soon btw i just read this http://www.auto123.com/en/racing-news/rally/wrc-kimi-raikkonen-turned-down-f1-not-other-way-around?artid=113982and domenicalli said really make me wonders if Kimi become more interested in Rally than F1 in log time ago
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http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=6609&desc=Kimi%27s+WRC+switch+to+be+permanent%26%2363%3BKimi's WRC switch to be permanent?Kimi Raikkonen will stay on as a World Rally Championship driver beyond the end of his 2010 programme with Citroen as long as his results improve during the year.That is the claim of Kimi’s co-driver Kaj Lindstrom, who told wrc.com that he felt a successful season in the WRC could be enough to make Raikkonen forget about returning to F1.At the moment, Raikkonen, 30, has committed only to a 12-round WRC campaign with Citroen Sport in 2010. On his website, the 2007 world champion states he hasn’t ruled out a Formula One return in the future – though only if it’s with a team with title winning potential.But asked by wrc.com if he felt Raikkonen would remain in the World Rally Championship beyond the 2010 season, Lindstrom said: "Yes. I believe he will, if he can get some good results.""He’s seen F1, and now he’s really looking forward to rallying and if we can see that he can improve and the results are coming, then I think he will be more interested in continuing with rally, rather than returning to F1."Lindstrom’s comments come in the same week that Citroen Racing boss Oliver Quesnel suggested Raikkonen could be destined for his factory team in the future.Quesnel told French Auto Hebdo magazine he is prepared for the Finn to make an impact during his debut season and extend his stay in the series. “We are not asking for the impossible for a first season, but it is clear that if he progresses and shows the right level, then he could slot into the first team [in 2011]” he reportedly said.
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about ”zero’s” post. In one hand i really understand Kimi . WRC racing is also something special and i think he saw this moment as one of the last trains in that direction 🙂
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Q&A with Kaj Lindstrom :)————-http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=6612&desc=Q%26A+with+Kaj+LindstromHaving spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons co-driving for multiple champion Tommi Makinen at the Subaru World Rally Team, Kaj Lindstrom knows what it’s like to work in the spotlight. Next year the Finn returns to a full-time WRC drive alongside another superstar – Kimi Raikkonen.Since 2003, Lindstrom has co-driven for a number of privateer drivers in the WRC, but none as high profile as Raikkonen, who he first partnered on the F1 star’s rally debut – the 2009 Finnish championship Arctic Rally.Since then Lindstrom, 41, has co-driven for Raikkonen on two other non-championship events – Finland’s Rally of Mikkeli and the asphalt Rally della Marca in Italy – as well as the WRC Rally Finland.As he prepares for his return to the WRC at the top level, Lindstrom talked to wrc.com about the challenge ahead.You last drove a full WRC season in 2003, how does it feel to be coming back at this level?"It’s good to be back, and especially with this kind of driver, when you can see there is potential there. I’ve driven with many different types of competitor, from ‘gentleman’ drivers to those wanting to prove their potential. Kimi definitely has the potential to be fast and, as a co-driver, that makes it more interesting to do your work. I’m really looking forward to it now."You and Kimi are yet to drive the Citroen C4 WRC, when will you get the chance?"Well, we are planning to test before the Arctic Rally in January, but that hasn’t yet been agreed. We are both going to see Citroen Sport in Paris at the beginning of January to do the seat fitting and so on. At that meeting we expect to agree the test dates."All your rallies together so far have been in a Super 2000 Abarth. How difficult do you think it will be for Kimi to adapt to a World Rally Car?"It will be different for sure, but whether Kimi will find it difficult I don’t know. He’s used to a driving a Formula One car which, I would say, is a step higher than any other car. He’s used to 700bhp through the rear wheels, so if he can cope with that then dealing with half the power – unfortunately – though four wheels should be okay. Yes, there is a gap between a Group N or Super 2000 car and a World Rally Car, but I don’t think it’s a step which will be difficult for him to take."You’ve driven with Kimi on snow, tarmac and asphalt. Which of the rallies in 2010 do you think will be toughest for him to adapt to?"I think they will all be difficult, there no point in saying otherwise, because they will all be new to him. Maybe the hardest will be the rough rallies like Turkey, where he will have to find the limit of the car. He needs to discover just how strong they are, and what they are capable of surviving. There’s a limit for Super 2000 and Group N cars beyond which you’ll break the car. But it’s a different story with World Rally Cars. Obviously you can break them as well – but not that easily."And which do you think he’ll do best on?"It’s hard to say, but obviously tarmac is the surface that he’s most familiar with. I’m really looking forward to sitting with him on those events." ——————————–
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Kimi is strong determined to do his best and fight!I’m confident about a stunning result because this is a warm up, a test for him in a way but he also knows the race track and could be one of best drivers there.keep flying in this new challenge!!!!!!!!
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Thanks for sharing the news. There is not much news on WRC.com about Kimi yet, now I really rely on KRS space & Kimi’s official forum for news. I try not to visit any F1 websites since Kimi’s annoucement joining WRC because I want to leave F1 with Kimi 🙂 I believe Kimi will not return to F1 if he does well in 2010, if he did then Rally World Champion will be his next target. I used very worry if Kimi doesn’t return to F1, now looks like I happy for whatever decision he makes, as long as he is happy.
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There’s only a lack of news from kimi because he’s under contract with ferrari still so he’s not allowed to say anything. In the new year there will be news I reckon, thats when he’s going to France to meet the team and discuss the plans.
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Well to make up for the lack of ‘news’, here are a couple of articles that I asked Nicole to translate for me, and she did a fab job as always!————————–FORMULASTAR RÄIKKÖNEN TURNED INTO RALLY DRIVER RÄIKKÖNENTurun Sanomat 4.12 2009 23:18:05Kimi Räikkönen is preparing to celebrate Finland’s Independence day as a very independent man. In the motorsport world Räikkönen is completely in his own chapter.It’s unique that a 30-year old formula star decided to change the Grand Prix -limelights into shady rally paths and hence make yet one dream in his driving career come true.The Champion team Citroen Racing announced that Räikkönen will drive in 12 races in WRC. When Kimi didn’t get the winning car he was looking for from the F1-camp, he got one from the WRC-serie. It’s a different thing what kind of a pace he gets since he is going there with cold feet.Kimi made the contract with his long-time partner Red Bull and he made the decision about going to rally completely independently and straightforward even though he also had an offer from Mercedes on the table.– Mercedes would have wanted Kimi but at that point he had already decided that he goes to rally. When Kimi has made up his mind it’s firm, Steve Robertson told TS.Experts and fans have warned and warned Räikkönen not to jump into the unknown but the outsider’s estimates have never influenced his decisions before either. Knowing the man, Kimi believes that he can get good results in rally very fast.When he began his F1-career in 2001 Räikkönen got a preliminary and suspended superlicense to the first four races. Most experts saw the unexperienced Räikkönen as a safety risk for other drivers but Kimi shut them up at the very beginning and opened in Australia’s opening race his saldo with coming in 6th.Now Räikkönen gets to test his Citroen C4-car in January. The actual training is 28-30th of January in Arctic Lapland -rally in Rovaniemi and his actual trial by fire is 11.-14th of February in Sweden WRC-rally’s opening race.How does it feel for the 2007 F1-champion to be a rally driver?– It feels nice – and interesting, Räikkönen replies and makes it clear that the feeling really is high after the decision that buzzed the whole nation.– I have always at some point of my career wanted to compete in rally – especially on a WC-level with a WRC-car. Thanks to the connections I tied with Red Bull a chance opened up for me to drive in the WC-serie with the best car Citroen C4. This is a completely new challenge to me but an even more interesting one.– At the moment I have a 1-year contract. We will think at some point next season what we will do after that. I’m eagerly waiting that I get to test the car and start with it to the first race, Räikkönen said.Red Bull and Citroen have been together since 2008 Argentina’s rally. During that time they have snatched 15 victories.Next year Kimi will drive for the junior team with Sebastien Ogiers. Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Sordo will continue in the factory team. These four drivers will get almost identical cars from Citroen.Räikkönen drove last winter and summer four rallies with the Fiat Punto that he owns. He will still have beside him his co-driver Kaj Lindström who will with his own experience bring the needed authority to the job and who can cool down the steams in a proper way.Turun SanomatHEIKKI KULTA—————————————-
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http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/ralli/uutiset.shtml/arkistot/ralli/2009/12/1015847—————————————————-RÄIKKÖNEN FILLS ALL THE HOTELSRäikkönen taking part in Arctic rally is a huge marketing asset for the organisers.- If this doesn’t bring the gang here then nothing does. You can see it daily in papers too. There has never been this kind of media rumba at this stage. If 200 reporters are coming in from the world and everybody wants to stay in a room for one person, then where can we put them all, the marketing manager Heikki Poranen wondered.- First I want to see Kimi drive three long and special kind of stages on Friday and I will give statements after that. When he comes in from the 4th SS we will see what kind of a man he is. It’s not good to judge anyone beforehand, Poranen said.Much depends also on the starting order since if the national rally cars start first then Räikkönen gets with his WRC-car out on pretty worn out roads.- Everything is still open. Let’s see how many WRC-cars there will come. AKK-Motorsport will make the starting position list. Everybody wants to drive first on snow, then again nobody wants to drive first on gravel. On the other hand sometimes the circumstances can be so that a later starting position can be even better, Poranen thinks.- Formula-things are still so in the middle that I don’t know if Kubica will drive. It’s just the article from some time ago where he said that he would be interested in driving here. Everything is still mixed up. Does Renault even have a car he could drive in a snow rally with? The employers are the one who decide it in the end, Poranen reminded.———————————————-
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Hi Guys!I have not write here for a long time since I’m little bit disappointed of Kimi’s decision to start rallying. Of course Kimi can do what ever he wants, but I think he certainly have some unfinished business in F1. Kimi’s manager Steve Robertson said, that he would like to see Kimi back in F1. I certainly hope the same.About rallying. I’m a Finn and rallying is very popular sport here. There has been so many top rally drivers in here that I can’t remember them all but to mention names Hannu Mikkola, Ari Vatanen, Timo Salonen, Juha Kankkunen, Tommi Mäkinen, Marcus Grönholm and latest star Mikko Hirvonen you might get some idea… All those guys have started driving rally car when they have been around 5-6 years old. I do also think, that all of them have spent they childhood winters with driving a rally car on the frozen lake (BTW: I have also personally tried that couple of times, that’s fun). My understanding is, that Kimi has not have possibility to do that. He has only done carting. Kimi is super talented, but he has not that experience from his early years. Is that going to be a problem, it remains to be seen.Other thing in rallying is the fact, that it is not possible to remember all the roads. Driver and co-driver are co-operating all the time. So Kimi must learn how to make pace notes and how to make top class pace notes. Kimi will also need a lot of experience off all rallies, before he can challenge the top guns of rallying. Purely by driving, he can’t win any rallies next season.Anyway, I do hope that Kimi will come back to F1 after some time and win at one or two more world championships. What I have read, I do also think, Kimi will do Le Mans and maybe some series also in USA. If he can win F1 world championship, Rally World Championship, Le Mans and maybe Indy500, he would be the best all round driver there has ever been. Lets see what happens :)Some of you might have seen this, but there has certainly been some high level discussions about Räikkönen’s future:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTfMFgD4ntI&feature=relatedBrPekka2
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Heikki may be joining Kimi for the Arctic Lapland rally too: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80592Hei Pekka! Mate, I’m really disappointed too that Kimi has to leave F1 this way. I’m sure he would have preferred otherwise himself, but trying something as hard as rallying may get him back the credit he deserves, not to mention the fun!If Kimi’s dream is to now be a rally success/champion, then logically he has to start now. Get all the experience he can get. He’s not a young boy anymore. I agree with you Pekka though, it’s not going to be easy at all. But that’s the challenge Raikkonen has chosen and God bless him! He definately has the talent, maybe even more than what we’ve seen in F1… which is why it’s going to be exciting seeing him perform in different conditions. We were discussing the pace-notes in the forum, and yup – they look like a nightmare! But Kimi also wrote his own pace-notes in his last rally, and Kaj Lindstrom was very impressed. So… Kimi is getting there, step by step :)I totally agree with you about Le Mans, Kimi should definately try that one out. Would totally blast out the dumb jokes about him being lazy. lol In my opinion, I’ve never seen a multi-talented driver like Kimi, in motorsport. So he’s unique!Thanks for that video link by the way 🙂 I will check the shops today to see the new Autosport magazine issue, apparently has a big feature/interview with Kimi about rally.
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Hi Even*…hi everyone, its been a long time….i visit the blog but for some reason i couldn’t add any more comments.Its just lame nowadays. And the biggest problem is that how will i watch Kimi rallying?They don’t broadcast WRC over here…*****Therefore i’m just thinking if there’s a possibility for you (Even*) to make a Torrent of every Rally that is held and put it up for all those Raikkos like me so that we can also enjoy watching Kimi in his debut season….Direct Download is very difficult and Torrents are mush more fast and easier so Plz…..I’ll be really Grateful to u…..Waiting for ur reply….i know this may be another load for u to add in ur schedule…..but let me know if there’s any other possibilities for me and the others… plzz….uploading the torrent over here will also bring in some seeders as its difficult to download from somewhere else…..**********:-)
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hahahahahahaha, lol , on that video . Fantastic
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