"Why Ken and Kimi will be missed" by Giles Wage
Why Ken and Kimi will be missed
Column 8th March 2012
By Giles Wade
As much as last year’s World Rally Championship developed into a race between two drivers, it sometimes seemed as though it was a story of two pairs of sunnies.
Wherever they went in the world, two men could comfortably cast title racers Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen into the shade. While wearing their own.
And now one of them’s gone completely and the other one’s not going to be playing in our park much this year. I am talking, of course, about Kimi Raikkonen and Ken Block. Neither of them were about to become World Rally champion, but both were the ultimate feature of fascination wherever they went for the last two years.
The WRC will undoubtedly suffer from the loss of Raikkonen. The ease with which the Finn relaxed into the WRC in just a couple of seasons was incredible. When he started out with the Citroen Junior Team at the start of 2010, he was about as likely to be seen outside the car as Lord Lucan. By the end of last year, he was moving through the service park largely unmolested by the media. We’d got used to seeing Kimi around, but the novelty had, to some degree, worn off. To the pack of hacks who tour the world following the series, the former Formula 1 champion had become a middling driver who was actually living a small part of his own dream and keeping us entertained at the same time.
To the spectators who lined the stages across the globe, he was still the Iceman. And he will always be the Iceman. And the loss of said man of ice to F1 is terrible. There is, however, some scant consolation that Raikkonen talks of the WRC in terms of unfinished business.
He might be back. There are millions who hope so.
Undoubtedly, Raikkonen was good news for the WRC as well – opening our side of the sport up to a relatively new audience.
Block on the other hand is opening us up to a radically new audience.
The number of people who have actively turned on their computer and requested a view of one of Block’s gymkhana videos is roughly the same as the population of Great Britain – that’s around 60 million for the demographically challenged among you.
Block is more than a driver now, he’s a phenomenon. Unfortunately, he’s an American phenomenon and America, it seems, wants its phenomenon back. The World Rally Championship’s just not big enough in the US to satisfy the appetite for all things Monster Block. So, cool Ken’s going home for a season of Global RallyCross, north American rallies and Gymkhana. The WRC gets to borrow him for three outings only: Mexico, New Zealand and Finland.
Block’s an exceptional ambassador for the WRC (when his Fiesta's on the road and dirty side down, that is...) and he’s one we’re going to miss this year.
We’ll also miss his massive enthusiasm for our sport. His arrival two years ago was perfect; binning the brash, Block went softly-softly (apart from the big tunes, Monster Hummer, dancing girls and rocking party in the centre of Paris at the launch of the 2010 season) and won the WRC establishment over.
Like Raikkonen, Block’s lack of victories would never dampen the enthusiasm for seeing the kind of iconic character generated when new media meets the full fury of a World Rally Car spinning on a sixpence.
Hopefully, Block will be back for more next season.
Not for the first time, America’s gain is the rest of the world’s loss.
Fonte: MaxRally.com/ Dica: Miezicat
Ok, acho que preciso enviar este texto para Mariana Becker ou para aqueles que duvidam da importância da passagem de Kimi pelo WRC. Nunca foi sobre vencer, porque sabíamos que isto seria complicado e precisaria de muito tempo de adaptação. Foi sobre presença, sobre a importância e o peso que a imagem do piloto finlandês é capaz de criar. E isto ele conseguiu! Como eu já escrevi aqui várias vezes, inclusive neste texto, hoje, as pessoas do WRC sabem quem é Kimi Räikkönen.
De verdade, me emocionei com este texto. E se eles sentirão saudades de Kimi pelo que a presença do Iceman levou ao WRC, eu sentirei falta do que vi e vivi como fã do finlandês por lá e da forma respeitosa e carinhosa com a qual o mundo do WRC tratou Kimi. Sempre. E eu fico muito feliz de ter acompanhado tudo isto!
E sobre Ken Block, uma coisa a dizer: figuraça! rsrsrs
Beijinhos, Ludy
Column 8th March 2012
By Giles Wade
As much as last year’s World Rally Championship developed into a race between two drivers, it sometimes seemed as though it was a story of two pairs of sunnies.
Wherever they went in the world, two men could comfortably cast title racers Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen into the shade. While wearing their own.
And now one of them’s gone completely and the other one’s not going to be playing in our park much this year. I am talking, of course, about Kimi Raikkonen and Ken Block. Neither of them were about to become World Rally champion, but both were the ultimate feature of fascination wherever they went for the last two years.
The WRC will undoubtedly suffer from the loss of Raikkonen. The ease with which the Finn relaxed into the WRC in just a couple of seasons was incredible. When he started out with the Citroen Junior Team at the start of 2010, he was about as likely to be seen outside the car as Lord Lucan. By the end of last year, he was moving through the service park largely unmolested by the media. We’d got used to seeing Kimi around, but the novelty had, to some degree, worn off. To the pack of hacks who tour the world following the series, the former Formula 1 champion had become a middling driver who was actually living a small part of his own dream and keeping us entertained at the same time.
To the spectators who lined the stages across the globe, he was still the Iceman. And he will always be the Iceman. And the loss of said man of ice to F1 is terrible. There is, however, some scant consolation that Raikkonen talks of the WRC in terms of unfinished business.
He might be back. There are millions who hope so.
Undoubtedly, Raikkonen was good news for the WRC as well – opening our side of the sport up to a relatively new audience.
Block on the other hand is opening us up to a radically new audience.
The number of people who have actively turned on their computer and requested a view of one of Block’s gymkhana videos is roughly the same as the population of Great Britain – that’s around 60 million for the demographically challenged among you.
Block is more than a driver now, he’s a phenomenon. Unfortunately, he’s an American phenomenon and America, it seems, wants its phenomenon back. The World Rally Championship’s just not big enough in the US to satisfy the appetite for all things Monster Block. So, cool Ken’s going home for a season of Global RallyCross, north American rallies and Gymkhana. The WRC gets to borrow him for three outings only: Mexico, New Zealand and Finland.
Block’s an exceptional ambassador for the WRC (when his Fiesta's on the road and dirty side down, that is...) and he’s one we’re going to miss this year.
We’ll also miss his massive enthusiasm for our sport. His arrival two years ago was perfect; binning the brash, Block went softly-softly (apart from the big tunes, Monster Hummer, dancing girls and rocking party in the centre of Paris at the launch of the 2010 season) and won the WRC establishment over.
Like Raikkonen, Block’s lack of victories would never dampen the enthusiasm for seeing the kind of iconic character generated when new media meets the full fury of a World Rally Car spinning on a sixpence.
Hopefully, Block will be back for more next season.
Not for the first time, America’s gain is the rest of the world’s loss.
Fonte: MaxRally.com/ Dica: Miezicat
Ok, acho que preciso enviar este texto para Mariana Becker ou para aqueles que duvidam da importância da passagem de Kimi pelo WRC. Nunca foi sobre vencer, porque sabíamos que isto seria complicado e precisaria de muito tempo de adaptação. Foi sobre presença, sobre a importância e o peso que a imagem do piloto finlandês é capaz de criar. E isto ele conseguiu! Como eu já escrevi aqui várias vezes, inclusive neste texto, hoje, as pessoas do WRC sabem quem é Kimi Räikkönen.
De verdade, me emocionei com este texto. E se eles sentirão saudades de Kimi pelo que a presença do Iceman levou ao WRC, eu sentirei falta do que vi e vivi como fã do finlandês por lá e da forma respeitosa e carinhosa com a qual o mundo do WRC tratou Kimi. Sempre. E eu fico muito feliz de ter acompanhado tudo isto!
E sobre Ken Block, uma coisa a dizer: figuraça! rsrsrs
Beijinhos, Ludy
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