Raikkonen, the next big Welsh superstar?

Raikkonen, the next big Welsh superstar?

Wales Rally GB - Day 2

Saturday 13 November 2010 - 21h52, by Franck Drui

Kimi Raikkonen may have won 18 Grands Prix and a Formula One World Championship, but one thing that the Red Bull driver hasn’t done yet is sell 100 million records worldwide. The route during day two of the Rally Great Britain ran close to Pontypridd, the hometown of legendary Welsh crooner Tom Jones.

It’s true that Kimi knows a lot of famous people. He’s never been a close personal friend of Elvis Presley’s though, and neither has he ever lived in a house formerly owned by Dean Martin. Tom Jones has done all these things, being the 24th most successful artist in the world - ahead of Prince, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and Tina Turner.

So Kimi is definitely resigned to not being the biggest superstar in Wales this weekend. Instead, his goal is firmly to get to the finish of one of the most tricky and specialised events of the year. From the very beginning, the Iceman has been in the top 10, and today he did another solid job to make up two more places and end the second day in eighth.

Rally Great Britain is made up of gravel stages that are extremely inconsistent, with the grip alternating between slippery and non-existent. To make matters even more complicated, there were several sections of asphalt on today’s stages, which soon turned into a skating rink.

Sensibly the Red Bull driver decided to take it easy and concentrate on scoring points at the end of the rally tomorrow, having steered clear of risks all day.

"I came into this rally knowing that it was going to be difficult, but I never actually thought that it would be this difficult," said Kimi. "I suppose today I had a slightly better idea of what to expect so it was less surprising but still just as tricky as yesterday. When we are driving on asphalt with gravel tyres there’s really no grip at all. But in other places, there is more grip than you think. To do well here you need a lot of experience, which is why we are just driving at our own pace and not taking any risks. I’m enjoying myself though and learning more all the time. The stages are really nice but hard to predict – a bit like the weather here!"

Kimi’s co-driver Kaj Lindstrom knows all about the weather in Wales, having finished on the podium of the Rally Great Britain in the past. There won’t be a podium this time, but Kaj was still impressed. "Considering his level of experience, which is zero here, Kimi approached the stages in a very sensible way. We said before the start that we wanted to get to the end of the event in the points and so far we are on track. Of course we can’t take anything for granted because tomorrow’s stages are probably even more difficult than today’s. But so far, we’re on the right road and that is the main thing."

Fonte: http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com

Ai...eu só quero que este rali acabe bem para Kimi!!! Na posição que ele está para mim está ótimo!!! Terminar pontuando e com uma boa performance!!! Valerá tudo!!!

Beijinhos, Ice-Ludy