Raikkonen crashes out of Arctic Rally - Autosport

[Wanta996Gotta]

Kimi Raikkonen has crashed out of the Arctic Rally on the second stage.

The Red Bull driver lost control of his Citroen C4 WRC on a right-hand corner in SS2 and hit a tree. It is hoped he and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom can return under superally regulations tomorrow.

Raikkonen had made a strong start to his first ever competitive outing in the C4 WRC, posting a time just five seconds shy of Citroen World Rally Team driver Dani Sordo on the event's opening 11.27km test.

A member of the Arctic Rally organising team said: "From what we hear, Kimi has hit the tree and knocked it down. We will have to wait and see what is the damage to the car.

"Maybe it's possible for them to come back tomorrow - we hope so."

[llewop]

the team said said:

"From what we hear, Kimi has hit the tree and knocked it down. We will have to wait and see what is the damage to the car."

ooops! off to a good start then!

[slipstream 1985]

aww pity...

[MichaelWinner]

Five seconds shy isn't bad at all, as he is "learning", hopefully he can join tomorrow.

[mybrainhurts]

Following in the footsteps of Jim Clark...

RAC Rally, 1966 ---->

[dpbird90]

Probably distracted by the distinctive ringing of an ice cream van.

[Wayne King]

llewop said:

the team said said:

"From what we hear, Kimi has hit the tree and knocked it down. We will have to wait and see what is the damage to the car."

ooops! off to a good start then!

"Raikkonen had made a strong start to his first ever competitive outing in the C4 WRC, posting a time just five seconds shy of Citroen World Rally Team driver Dani Sordo on the event's opening 11.27km test."

Doesn't look to bad to me. Everyone crashes, not everyone is quick.

[jbudgie]

I would have thought that 5 seconds off the pace on one stage was pretty crap.

[thegobetween]

jbudgie said:

I would have thought that 5 seconds off the pace on one stage was pretty crap.

What, 5 seconds over 11k's!

Ogier was over 30 secs clear on the Monte on ss6 (i think), and that was against seasoned rally drivers...including Hirvonen.

[Allyc85]

Kimi continues..

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81125

[Rollcage]

thegobetween said:

jbudgie said:

I would have thought that 5 seconds off the pace on one stage was pretty crap.

What, 5 seconds over 11k's!

Ogier was over 30 secs clear on the Monte on ss6 (i think), and that was against seasoned rally drivers...including Hirvonen.

Its not bad for his first rally in a decent car. Pity he couldnt hold it together for more than one stage though!

[jbudgie]

thegobetween said:

jbudgie said:

I would have thought that 5 seconds off the pace on one stage was pretty crap.

What, 5 seconds over 11k's!

Ogier was over 30 secs clear on the Monte on ss6 (i think), and that was against seasoned rally drivers...including Hirvonen.

That was probably due to having the right tyres for the conditions at the the time . the Monte is renowned for the changeable conditions.

5 seconds off the pace is crap for one stage.

[Rollcage]

jbudgie said:

thegobetween said:

jbudgie said:

I would have thought that 5 seconds off the pace on one stage was pretty crap.

What, 5 seconds over 11k's!

Ogier was over 30 secs clear on the Monte on ss6 (i think), and that was against seasoned rally drivers...including Hirvonen.

That was probably due to having the right tyres for the conditions at the the time . the Monte is renowned for the changeable conditions.

5 seconds off the pace is crap for one stage.

Still second fastest time after Sordo. I know the competition is pretty weak, but its not a bad time, even so.

1/2 a second a K slower than Sordo in last years Rally Norway would have had him finish in the top 10 overall for that event.

Its not a bad time, and he will only get faster!

[bullies180]

Not good news, i've never really been a kimi fan, but as an f1 fan i seriously respect the guys talent and speed! In fact i may just start following him in the WRC as i don't follow any other driver but love the series, does anyone know if it is being shown on dave?

[Rollcage]

bullies180 said:

Not good news, i've never really been a kimi fan, but as an f1 fan i seriously respect the guys talent and speed! In fact i may just start following him in the WRC as i don't follow any other driver but love the series, does anyone know if it is being shown on dave?

Yes - starts next month in Sweden.

IRC is on British Eurosport.

[bullies180]

oooh i have that! get in! better stock the freezer with ice cubes and cream! maybe a little vodka too.........

[C Lee Farquar]

Worth remembering Hirvonen was sacked by Subaru for crashing too much when he went up to WRC, so hardly a big deal if Kimi has a few offs.

Nice to see he got the car back on track, limped through the next stage, to get to service. Shows a bit of commitment?

[superkartracer]

jbudgie said:

I would have thought that 5 seconds off the pace on one stage was pretty crap.

Give it a try! you might find yourself 5 hours off the pace.

5 seconds, think about that! - in the snow

Edited by superkartracer on Saturday 30th January 08:29

[llewop]

update:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81133

the good news:

Raikkonen's co-driver Kaj Lindstrom said:

"The afternoon has been good. Kimi is back on top of the car after the problem this morning. We've been just under a second per kilometre slower than Dani [Sordo], who's leading the event. The focus for me tomorrow will be to get that gap down to half a second per kilometre."

the bad news:

Sordo said:

It's been good, I'm driving the car at about the same sort of pace I would drive during a test. Sometimes, when the road is nicer and I have some more confidence, I am pushing a little bit more.

which kind of sounds like Sordo isn't flat out!

To be fair, at the end of the day they are the only WRC cars in the rally so it is effectively just a test and familiarisation; so good for Kimi to get up to speed and practice dodging trees!