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Raikkonen: Portugal proving tough
Red Bull driver Kimi Raikkonen has admitted the Rally of Portugal is
turning out to be a bigger challenge than he expected.
The Citroen C4 WRC-driving Finn is ninth overall on the Faro-based
event, but almost six minutes down on the leader after this afternoon’s
first of three stages.
Ahead of the event, Raikkonen acknowledged that his fifth event with
the Citroen Junior Team would be among the toughest – but it has
exceeded his expectations.
"It is much more difficult here than on the previous rallies," said
Raikkonen. "There are so many corners on the top of the crest and then
the surface is changing a lot with the grip level changing too. It’s the
toughest of the year.
"I came here to find experience and that’s what I’m doing. We’re not
going to take big risks, I want to learn."
Raikkonen’s co-driver Kaj Lindstrom said he was pleased with his
driver’s progress between the morning and afternoon loops of stages.
"On Friday morning, maybe we were a little bit too safe," he said,
"but we need time in the car. We didn’t do New Zealand, we only did a
small test before here and this is the first time Kimi has been to this
event. His progress is coming, it’s better in the afternoon.
"This is not an easy rally to come and learn, either. If it’s the
fast stuff, like Finland, it’s no problem, he has the balls for that
kind of stuff, but when it’s a technical rally and quite slow, it’s not
so easy – especially with so many blind crests and things like this.
"I’m happy, though, he’s listening to the notes, we’ve made good
notes and everything is okay."
Kimi continues the learning curve in Portugal
It takes up to 50 years for a vintage Port wine
to mature to its full complexity, and the greatest Port vintage of this
century is reckoned by experts to date from 1927, with several cases
still in existence.
The moral of the story? It takes time to get the best out of what
Portugal has to offer. The Port-maker’s art cannot be learned overnight
and neither can the stages of Rally Portugal.
Red Bull driver Kimi Raikkonen has got to the end of a tough second day
in ninth place, after having to cope with some of the toughest roads he
has seen so far on his debut year of the World Rally Championship.
With the Rally de Portugal forming part of the series for the past three
seasons, Kimi’s rivals have effectively got a three-year head start on
the iceman: who is competing on only his seventh WRC rally.
Despite this huge handicap, he worked hard on his pace notes, steered
clear of trouble, and brought his Red Bull-liveried Citroen safely back
to the service park near Faro. While the car was serviced Kimi ate his
dinner – but there will be no vintage Port to enjoy with it until the
rally finishes tomorrow.
"It’s been a really tough day," said the Finn. "It’s not easy at all to
get used to these stages, particularly after a month out of the car.
Every single gravel rally we have done so far has been very different,
so as soon as you get used to one surface, you are suddenly presented
with something else totally different. That’s what makes rallying so
interesting but of course when you are starting out it’s a hard sport to
learn. When you are racing, one circuit is quite like another. But
rally is an even bigger challenge. I’ve had a lot of fun and we are on
course for our target to finish in the points. The stages today were
definitely tougher than the ones yesterday, and it’s going to be another
hard day tomorrow as well. But these experiences really help us to
learn, so it’s good."
Kimi’s co-driver Kaj Lindstrom has also been pleased with the progress
that the duo have made, particularly when it comes to working on the
pace notes. "These stages have been quite complicated in terms of pace
notes, but our system is really beginning to work well now," he said.
"For Kimi, this has been a big thing to get used to and I’m very
impressed by the way that he is taking everything on board. Nothing
seems to bother him: he is learning all the time and on every rally we
make more progress."
A final fascinating fact about Port, which is traditionally made in
Oporto: the venue for the pre-rally road show last Sunday. It is the
third-oldest defined and protected wine region in the world, having been
designated as an appellation in 1756. The oldest is Chianti in Italy
(1716) followed by Tokaj in Hungary (1730).
SS13 – S. Bras de Alportel 2
SS12 – Vascao 2
SS11 – Almodovar 2
SS10 – S. Bras de Alportel 1
SS9 – Vascao 1
SS8 – Almodovar 1
FUCK ISRAEL 