Source:
RedBull.com Kimi Räikkönen, Red Bull’s fearless iceman andthe 2007 Formula One World Champion, owes most of his success to a
certain Edgar Purnell Hooley. In many ways, this important personality
could be considered as the godfather of motorsport.
Hooley was walking along the road one day in 1901 when he saw some
sticky tar spilt on the ground. Somebody had laid some gravel on it so
that people could cross the puddle without getting their shoes dirty.
The result was a remarkably strong, consistent and dust-free road
surface. Hooley patented it the following year, under the name Tarmac.
Without him, there would be no racing circuits. Motorways would be made
of loose gravel. And there would certainly not be any asphalt rallies.
Bulgaria was the first of four asphalt events on the World Rally
Championship this year, and it was also the very first time that Kimi
tackled a WRC rally in a World Rally Car.
The results were astonishing. On his first day of competition, the
iceman was fighting with the frontrunners. Right up until the final
stage of the opening day, he was fourth overall after consistently
setting top-five stage times against vastly more experienced
competitors.
Then there was a small indiscretion after Kimi went too fast into a
right-hand corner on SS4, Belmeken Lake. Luckily the damage was just
cosmetic, and thanks to a great job by the Citroen Junior Team mechanics
Kimi was able to restart the second day under the super rally system,
with a 10-minute penalty for missing the final stage of day one.
From that point on, Kimi was able to gain more experience at the wheel
of his Citroen C4 WRC, which will be vital for the three remaining
Tarmac rallies this year – courtesy of Mr Hooley – in Germany, France
and Spain.
At the end of three tough days it was mission accomplished for Kimi, who
finished 11th overall. Even on the final day he set two top-five stage
times, underlining his commitment on what is only his sixth World
Championship rally.
"Some things were up and down but on the whole it was a good weekend,"
said Kimi at the finish in Borovets. "The most important thing was to
get used to driving the rally car on asphalt, which is obviously a
completely different experience to driving a Formula One car. I feel a
bit more comfortable on asphalt than I do on gravel, but rallying is
still a totally different sport compared to racing and we have a lot to
learn. Bit by bit the feeling is coming though, and I actually liked a
lot of the roads here in Bulgaria: they were quite flowing with a nice
rhythm. Now we go back to gravel in Finland: it will be nice to compete
at home again and also to come back to a rally that I know a bit
already."
The experienced Kaj Lindstrom, who used to partner four-time World Rally
Champion Tommi Makinen, added: "This was certainly our best performance
of the year in terms of speed, but there is plenty more to come. If we
had not had the problem on Friday then we would have been fourth and
maybe even third, which would have been incredible. But the main thing
is not the result; it’s the learning process. We’ve learned a lot on
this rally, with the pace notes as well, and it will all be very useful
for the future. I’m feeling confident."
Räikkönen
and Ogier show their class in Rally Bulgaria
Source: RallyBuzz.com
The eagerly awaited first asphalt round of the
World Rally Championship allowed the two Citroën Junior Team crews to
show their potential. At the end of the Rally Bulgaria, Sébastien Ogier
and Julien Ingrassia formed part of a historic one-two-three-four
formation finish for Citroën, while Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström set
some top stage times.
While Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia’s objective was to maintain
their fourth place overall today, Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström still
needed to push to claim 10th place and the one World Championship
drivers’ point that came with it. As the result of a 10-minute penalty
after going off the road at the end of the opening day, Kimi and Kaj
started the day in 14th place: 2m46.5s off the 10th place that was held
by Henning Solberg.
On the first stage, the Finns got back more than 40 seconds, followed by
another 35 seconds on the following stage. This was enough to place
them 11th. “We’re pushing hard again today,” said Kimi. “Everything went
well although I had a slightly strange feeling on the second stage. The
team is going to change the front anti-roll bar at service.”
Meanwhile, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia held onto their overall
position. “After losing a minute on the first day, we can’t fight with
Dani Sordo and Petter Solberg anymore,” explained Sébastien. “That’s a
pity, but it also allows us to concentrate on understanding our Citroën
C4 WRC in asphalt specification. We’re trying out some settings that
maybe we wouldn’t have risked if we were in the middle of a tight battle
and that’s very good for our learning process.”
On the final loop of stages, Kimi continued reducing the gap to the top
10 by taking more than 45 seconds from Henning Solberg in Muhovo 2. But
the Finn made a small mistake on the final stage and had to settle for
11th overall in the end. “At least we tried!” he said at the finish.
“Our feeling with the car was very good throughout the rally and that’s
extremely positive for what is only our first asphalt event. We keep on
learning and I have the feeling that we’re making progress now.”
Sébastien Ogier eventually finished fourth behind three more Citroën C4
WRCs, having set fastest time on the final stage. The Frenchman was able
to draw an extremely positive conclusion from the first asphalt rally
of the season. “It’s a great result for the championship,” he said.
“We’ve shown as of now that we’re able to fight for a podium on asphalt,
which is extremely promising for the rest of the season. Now we’re
going to concentrate on the forthcoming Rally Finland, which we’ll be
contesting for the first time with the Citroën Total World Rally Team.”
Team manager Benoit Nogier concluded: “It’s been another good day for
the Citroën Junior Team and yet another rally without any technical
problems for us. That’s a great tribute to the whole team, which has
once more prepared the two Citroën C4 WRCs perfectly. The team’s
performance on Friday night, which allowed Kimi to restart the rally on
Saturday, was equally remarkable. Citroën has again shown that asphalt
is a very strong surface for the brand, while our two drivers have
displayed some fascinating potential for the future.”
Rally Bulgaria Day 3 Stage Times
Source: WRC.com
SS14 – Slavovitsa 2
SS13 – Muhovo 2
SS12 – Slavovitsa 1
SS11 – Muhovo 1
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