Raikkonen crashes out of Mexico
Citroen Junior Team driver Kimi Raikkonen has crashed out of Rally
Mexico close to the finish of the final gravel stage of day one.
The Finn rolled his C4 WRC off the road a mile from the end of the
second run through the El Cubliete test. Initial reports suggest it was a
substantial crash, with the car rolling six times. Both Raikkonen and
his co-driver Kaj Lintstrom were uninjured in the accident, but the C4
is said to be destroyed.
Raikkonen’s first day on gravel in a World Rally Car has been eventful,
with a bent steering arm spoiling the first stage and an electrical
fault costing him 20 minutes on the second test. He then posted the
fifth fastest time, just 0.9 seconds slower than the fastest time on his
first ever asphalt WRC test, the Coca-Cola Street Stage.
The first two stages of the afternoon were also better with eighth and
ninth quickest times on gravel before his accident.
SS6 – Ortega 2:
SS5 – Alfaro 2:
Kimi Raikkonen remains in Rally Mexico thanks to his co-driver Kaj
Lindstrom’s last-ditch effort to discover the problem that halted their
Citroen C4 WRC on the second stage this morning.
For the second event in succession, Raikkonen has suffered problems
on the opening day. After sliding off the road on SS6 in Sweden, it was
the Finn’s Citroen which let him down on the Ortega test this morning.
Just over two miles into the stage, the C4 WRC’s engine died. Raikkonen
and Lindstrom radioed the team for assistance and eventually traced the
problem to a loose connection to the fuel pumps.
"We had tried everything, but we couldn’t find it," Lindstrom said.
"Then I slid my hand down the side of the bag [fuel tank], felt the wire
and realised that was wrong. We got it sorted and carried on after
that."
The Red Bull-backed pair’s problems were not over, however. Running
late, there was no time for them to change the tyres ahead of the
morning’s final gravel stage.
"It’s been a tough morning," continued Lindstrom. "We bent something
on the steering on the first stage, then we had stage two and we had to
do the third stage on the same tyres, so we haven’t really had a clean
run. But, taking all that into account, Kimi has driven really well."
SS4 – Coca Cola Street Stage
1: 
SS3 – El Cubliete 1:
SS2 – Ortega 1: Split-times
(View
overall stage times here)
[…] After hitting a rock on the
previous stage, Citroen Junior Team
driver Kimi Raikkonen had a more serious problem on SS2 which brought
his C4 WRC to a halt four kilometres from the start line.
Raikkonen
stopped after two large jumps, but the Citroen team said early
indications were that a mechanical problem was to blame.
Raikkon
and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom are working on the car and more information
is expected soon.
Raikkonen’s exit promoted Munchi’s team
driver Federico Villagra up into tenth place overall. Otherwise there
were no changes to the top ten positions […]
SS1 – Alfaro (completed): Solberg leads, Raikkonen 10th quickest
Kimi Raikkonen’s Rally Mexico has been ruined almost before it has
started, following an engine problem aboard his Citroen on this
morning’s second stage.
The Red Bull Citroen C4 WRC has stopped on the Ortega test, with what
the team suspect to be a fuel pressure-related problem for the former
Formula 1 world champion. He eventually found a loose connection and
revived the car, but lost over half an hour.
Raikkonen had posted the 10th fastest time on the opening stage this
morning. This is his first gravel rally in a World Rally Car, with the
Finn painfully short on loose-surface running having missed his
pre-event test due to a back injury.
FUCK ISRAEL 
Kimi really got huge improve from now, Go Kimi !Your blog is really great !
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They still have not confirmed anything yet or have they confirmed mechanical failure?
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Samia:I’m here!!!Kimi, the poor guy 😛
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Kimi should be continuing onto SS3 now, probably will have a penalty for what happened before though.
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SS3 is up and running.. Still don`t see Kimi on the list. This is so frustrating. :(According to few, "Raikkonen is still in the race ! He finished SS2 with 36mins late !"
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Sorry for posting again. Few claim this: "Kimi Räikkönen is said to have a problem with his C4’s fuel injection system. So it isn’t an accident."
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Citroen team are now saying: "SS2: Kimi Räikkönen stopped with an engine problem"
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Now there`s our Kimi on the SS3 list with no time atm. may be because he`ll given the penalty for being late in SS2. 😦
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Yep that’s right Amol.
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Anybody here using Google Earth guide for Rally Mexico or got any streaming link right now?
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Some links are in the forum:http://krs.20.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=442&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=225There should be a live stream at: http://www.rallymexico.com./
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Raikkonen: "We hit a rock and bent the steering arm and couldn’t go full speed. We changed it on the road section and now it is okay."In the second stage a connection came loose on the fuel pump after three kms.The steering is still a problem."
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Courtesy of Miezicat, download radio:Kimi after SS3http://www.mediafire.com/?mdz2daiqiyn
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Problem again *Sigh*…poor kimi….He’s too fast for the car to bare…He’s actually fast…..Its just bad luck….Shocked to see him in top 10 in SS1
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Samia:Kimi is No. 8 at SS3, right? I’m not sure. Do you know?http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=409&season=2010&rally_id=MEX&stage=3
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@Julia: Kimi did 7th fastest time in SS3, but will have to face penalty for being late at SS2.
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Thank you, Amol.7th fastest time is great.Kimi, don’t give up!!!
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My name’s spelt Saima, dear Julia! hehe.Kimi is so fast, but things keep stopping him.
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Saima, I’m sorry. ^ 0 ^
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Kimi 4th fastest in SS4!!!!
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Kimi is No.5 at SS4 stage1. I’m almost crying.Kimi! Good job!!!!! http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=405&season=2010&rally_id=MEX&stage=4
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http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt98/Icemaiden/ss4-1.jpg?t=1267812435
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Poor Kimi 😦 He’s so unlucky in rallying so far.Hopefully he can carry on getting good results like he just did in SS4 and show everyone that he has huge potential!GO KIMI!
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@Anna: I think he does n`t hold anything to prove to anyone about his speed. More important is how much quickly he learns to drive on Rally and off course the pace notes.
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Yeah but they again moved him down in the list with having same time as Sordo. God knows what are they doing right now.http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=405&season=2010&rally_id=MEX&category=&stage=4Anyway he has got the 4th fastest time. 🙂
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