F1Zone

Citroen Junior Team takes Italian 1-2

Sebastien Ogier and Kimi Raikkonen take a 1-2 finish on Rally della Lanterna

Sebastien Ogier and Kimi Raikkonen secured the first ever 1-2 finish for the Citroen Junior Team after it elected to enter the Rally della Lanterna in preparation for the upcoming asphalt events on the WRC schedule.

The pair became embroiled in a heated battle for victory in the Italian event, with Ogier eventually taking honours by less than six seconds.

With question marks over the weather when the event got underway, Ogier elected to go with hard tyres for the first loop of three stages – held after an earlier Superspecial test – with Raikkonen playing it safe with soft rubber.

Although he overheated his tyres on SS2, Raikkonen held the lead following the opening loop with Ogier having lost 30 seconds as he struggled for grip. Both drivers went for soft tyres on for the second loop of stages, with Raikkonen retaining the lead and Ogier climbing to second – 17 seconds behind.

Raikkonen lost time on the penultimate stage to allow Ogier to close to within 2.4secs of top spot and the Frenchman then went quicker through the final stage to take victory by 5.7 seconds.

“It's always great to win a rally, but above all I'm pleased to have been able to test a variety of different things on the car,” the Rally Portugal winner said. “I feel much better prepared now for the remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship, starting with the Rally Bulgaria that will be new for everyone.”

Raikkonen was also happy with the event despite missing out on victory.

“It was a good experience,” the former F1 title winner insisted. “The car was fun to drive and this day will be very useful to me to get ready for the second part of the season.”

dindi wrote: http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4595/10z1s9w.jpg
"Kimi, you chose rally rather than F1, you are the n.1."

Dracaena wrote:I've been wondering something about the podium ceremony. We all noticed how the presenters had some ( ) difficulties in asking Kimi questions in English. But every time he had answered they spoke to the audience for a long time in Italian, obviously translating his answers. My question is, did they actually translate what Kimi said or did they just make something up?

dindi wrote:TaniaS from Kimi official did say that the RAI and Mediaset were indeed furious with Kimi because Kimi won't give them an interview Surprise surprise. You treat him like sht after all these years and now you expect him to do you a favor and grant you an interview? Christ Eyefckngroll.

And she was also kind enough to translate what this graffitti means:
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4595/10z1s9w.jpg
"Kimi, you chose rally rather than F1, you are the n.1."

Lots of photos taken by Italian fans who were there at the rally on Kimi official (in the Italian thread) One fan who was with the Räikkönen Army said Kimi looked amused by their banner Kaitsu also said it was really cool

Raikkonen pushes Ogier hard on test rally


In order to prepare for the second half of the FIA World Rally Championship, which is held largely on asphalt, the Citroën Junior Team entered two C4 WRCs on the Rally della Lanterna – which took place on Saturday close to Genoa. Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindstrom led for most of the rally right up to the start of the last stage, where they finally had to give best to Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. For the first time in its history, the Citroën Junior Team sealed a one-two!

Sébastien Ogier won the opening superspecial on Friday night to lead from Kimi Räikkönen. The
following day, the rally continued with eight stages totalling 120 competitive kilometres.
As the teams left the service park for the first loop of three stages, threatening weather made tyre choice
an extremely tricky proposition. Although a storm had been predicted for the stages, Sébastien Ogier
chose hard tyres. “We’re not here to win, but instead to test for the four remaining asphalt rounds on the
WRC this year,” he explained. “So this is a good opportunity to find out how the tyres behave in
unaccustomed conditions.” Kimi Räikkönen, who is learning the C4 WRC on asphalt, made a more
conservative choice with soft tyres.

Although he overheated those tyres on SS2, Kimi was leading the rally by the end of SS4. As for
Sébastien, he lost nearly 30 seconds after struggling to find grip on the slippery asphalt!
On the second loop of stages, both C4 WRCs were fitted with soft tyres. Kimi hung onto the lead, while
Sébastien climbed up to second; 17 seconds off his team mate.

The rally went down to the final three stages. On the penultimate stage, a small impact cost Kimi several
seconds, and Sébastien closed up to within 2.4 seconds of him! As has been the case on several
occasions recently, there was maximum suspense at the stop control of the final stage. In the end,
Sébastien Ogier claimed victory by 5.7 seconds. “It’s always great to win a rally, but above all I’m
pleased to have been able to test a variety of different things on the car,” the Frenchman said. “ I feel
much better prepared now for the remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship, starting with the
Rally Bulgaria that will be new for everyone.”

Kimi Räikkönen also drew a positive conclusion from this valuable test event. “It was a good experience,”
he said. “The car was fun to drive and this day will be very useful to me to get ready for the second part of
the season.”

Team manager Benoît Nogier will retain many good memories of the trip to Italy. “Another victory in the
space of a few weeks and our first one-two are great moments for our team, which has been working nonstop,”
he concluded. “Leaving aside the result though, we’ve made a lot of progress to prepare for the
Rally Bulgaria. It’s extremely useful for the future to have tried out a wide range of tyres in different
conditions. Sébastien was just as good as we expected him to be and I would also like to highlight the
performance of Kimi, who set some very good times. We expected him to feel more at ease on asphalt
and that has turned out to be the case. It’s very encouraging for the future. Finally, I’d like to thank the
organisers and the spectators, who welcomed us enthusiastically to their beautiful part of the world.”

Sébastien Ogier won the opening superspecial on Friday night to lead from Kimi Räikkönen. The
following day, the rally continued with eight stages totalling 120 competitive kilometres.
As the teams left the service park for the first loop of three stages, threatening weather made tyre choice
an extremely tricky proposition. Although a storm had been predicted for the stages, Sébastien Ogier
chose hard tyres. “We’re not here to win, but instead to test for the four remaining asphalt rounds on the
WRC this year,” he explained. “So this is a good opportunity to find out how the tyres behave in
unaccustomed conditions.” Kimi Räikkönen, who is learning the C4 WRC on asphalt, made a more
conservative choice with soft tyres.

Although he overheated those tyres on SS2, Kimi was leading the rally by the end of SS4. As for
Sébastien, he lost nearly 30 seconds after struggling to find grip on the slippery asphalt!
On the second loop of stages, both C4 WRCs were fitted with soft tyres. Kimi hung onto the lead, while
Sébastien climbed up to second; 17 seconds off his team mate.

The rally went down to the final three stages. On the penultimate stage, a small impact cost Kimi several
seconds, and Sébastien closed up to within 2.4 seconds of him! As has been the case on several
occasions recently, there was maximum suspense at the stop control of the final stage. In the end,
Sébastien Ogier claimed victory by 5.7 seconds. “It’s always great to win a rally, but above all I’m
pleased to have been able to test a variety of different things on the car,” the Frenchman said. “ I feel
much better prepared now for the remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship, starting with the
Rally Bulgaria that will be new for everyone.”

Kimi Räikkönen also drew a positive conclusion from this valuable test event. “It was a good experience,”
he said. “The car was fun to drive and this day will be very useful to me to get ready for the second part of
the season.”

Team manager Benoît Nogier will retain many good memories of the trip to Italy. “Another victory in the
space of a few weeks and our first one-two are great moments for our team, which has been working nonstop,”
he concluded. “Leaving aside the result though, we’ve made a lot of progress to prepare for the
Rally Bulgaria. It’s extremely useful for the future to have tried out a wide range of tyres in different
conditions. Sébastien was just as good as we expected him to be and I would also like to highlight the
performance of Kimi, who set some very good times. We expected him to feel more at ease on asphalt
and that has turned out to be the case. It’s very encouraging for the future. Finally, I’d like to thank the
organisers and the spectators, who welcomed us enthusiastically to their beautiful part of the world.”

LadyR wrote:I scanned those pages, which are about Erzbergrodeo, from an Austrian rally magazine I bought today....

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/5899/scannen0002.jpg
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/3535/iceuh.jpg
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4135/scannen0005.jpg

Enjoy, they are huge! ;)