Raikkonen backed for solid Acropolis

Raikkonen backed for solid Acropolis

By David Evans

Kimi Raikkonen's co-driver Kaj Lindtsrom is confident the Finn's improvement on the stages will continue on this week's Acropolis Rally, despite a two-month lay-off since his last outing.

Raikkonen's last event was the Jordan Rally, where he finished sixth, just missing out on equaling his best ever WRC result in his Citroen DS3 WRC. Since the Middle East event, Raikkonen has had just one day of testing in the Citroen - a day spent close to Marseille in France last week.

Lindstrom said: "The test was a good day, not just to improve the feeling in the car but also to test a few [set-up] things for Greece. There were no problems [getting back in the car after two months away] because Kimi felt comfortable straight away and found the feeling. The road was rough and loose for the test, a bit like what I remember Greece to be, but it's a long time since I was there."

This week's Acropolis will be Raikkonen's first taste of the notoriously tough Greek roads.

"Sure it will be a new rally for Kimi but he will be okay," said Lindstrom. "We made some improvements to the car in the test and Kimi was confident, no question. Like in Jordan he felt comfortable in the car and I think we can see another strong performance by him.

"It's always difficult to say what that result will be and there's still a long way to go [for his learning] but we are closing the gap all of the time and I'm confident we will be even closer in Greece.

"The first day of the event is a tough day with only remote service but I don't think the approach will be any different. It's the same for everybody, a matter of luck if you have problems or not. If something breaks you know you have to live with it and get through. We will look to make a clean run but I am not that concerned for Kimi."

Raikkonen's team manager Benoit Nogier was equally confident in the former Formula 1 world champion's ability to deal with a new event. The Frenchman added: "We were very happy with his performance in Jordan and he has a good opportunity for Greece.

"We found a road with a condition as close as possible to Greece and Kimi was quite happy. It will be a tough rally, not necessarily for the drivers but for the cars. The first day is very long with only a remote service but Kimi is not a rookie anymore and will be able to manage this situation."

Fonte: autosport.com/Dica: Luieluv

Bom, de acordo com Kaj, Kimi está à vontade com o carro e eles esperam conseguir um bom desempenho na Grécia. O outro ponto legal da matéria acima é saber que a equipe confia em Kimi, que já não o vê como um iniciante.

Estou ansiosa por este rali por três motivos, primeiro porque finally Kimi volta ao WRC, já estava com saudades, segundo, porque quero ver Kimi e Kaj continuarem o belo trabalho que estão fazendo nesta temporada com a Ice1Racing e em terceiro, a Grécia definitivamente deverá ser o evento com o visual mais lindo de todos. Sem dúvida! E que venha o Rali dso Deuses!!! rsrsrs...

Beijinhos, Ludy