Kimi wins showdown race against biker Blazusiak

[View more photos of the event here ]

Red Bull driver Kimi Raikkonen faced a brand new different
challenge today, when he took on multiple trial bike champion Taddy
Blazusiak at a breathtaking head-to-head race in Austria.

After a hugely successful Formula One career, in which Kimi claimed the
2007 world title and 18 Grand Prix wins, the Finn is competing on the
World Rally Championship for the first time this year. But on one of his
rare weekends off, Kimi took part in a spectacular motorsport duel
against another well-known Red Bull athlete.

Driving his usual Citroen C4 WRC, Kimi faced a rocky and twisty
13-kilometre stage at the Erzberg Rodeo, carved out of a spectacular
mountainside quarry. His objective was to beat Polish enduro rider
Taddy: who has made this territory his own by winning the Red Bull Hare
Scramble, the highlight of the Erzberg Rodeo, for the past three years.

On the face of it the machines could not be more different. Kimi’s
Citroen C4 World Rally Car weighs 1230 kilograms, puts out around 300
horsepower and accelerates from 0-100 kilometres per hour in just over
four seconds. The KTM trials bike ridden by Taddy weighs just 122
kilograms, has 71 horsepower and takes a bit longer to pick up speed.

However, the agility of the KTM bike – as well as Taddy’s
unparalleled knowledge of the dramatic course – made it a very close
encounter. The stage was extremely rough and bumpy: a bit like the
legendary Safari Rally in places. After a tight and twisty start, the
road opened up and became quicker: handing the advantage to the rally
car at the finish. In the end, Kimi beat Taddy by just over 25 seconds,
watched by more than 30,000 people.

As part of the forfeit that had been agreed beforehand, Taddy was
then faced with the task of washing Kimi’s car at the finish. "Really,
it was all about the fun today," said Taddy, who now moves onto the
serious business of trying to win the Red Bull Hare Scramble for the
fourth consecutive time on Sunday. "It was a real privilege for me to
compete against Kimi and I hope that we put on a good show. I tried my
hardest, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough, so now I just have to
congratulate Kimi. And wash his car too!"

Kimi concluded: "It’s the first time that I’ve ever done anything
like this and I really enjoyed myself. It was a very close contest and
in the end I think our better top speed in the rally car is what helped
us. In the slow parts, it was much more evenly matched. I like bikes a
lot, so it was great to meet Taddy and chat with him. Now I have some
time free in Austria, so I am going to come back and watch the Red Bull
Hare Scramble on Sunday to wish Taddy luck. It’s really exciting to
watch."

Kimi: return to F1 "possible"
Source: Motorsport.com