Kimi Raikkonen enjoyed a fantastic Rally of Turkey, finishing fifth overall to add more points to his rally total and score his best ever result in a rally car. But while Kimi’s reactions and car control are awesome, there are some things that even a former Grand Prix champion cannot control - such as erupting volcanoes.
More than 500 people from the different world rally teams have been left stranded in Turkey - and Kimi and Kaj are two of them. Kimi’s solution will probably consist of flying to somewhere in Italy and then embarking on a long car journey back to his home in Switzerland.
Kimi’s Citroen Junior Team will head back to their base in Paris on a fleet of buses, while other people are looking at solutions involving boats and trains. Ironically, the rally’s base in Istanbul was the traditional terminus of the Orient Express, the luxury train service that used to link France’s capital with Turkey.
The world of rallying may not always be glamorous, but Kimi is thoroughly enjoying it after a fault-free Rally of Turkey in which he showed that he is a quick learner. On only his ninth-ever rally, the Iceman beat several drivers with far more experience and set stage times that were never out of the top 10 - and often in the top six.
"I’m really pleased with the way it’s gone," said Kimi. "There was nothing particularly special; we just paid good attention to the pace notes and made sure that we made no mistakes. The stages were really tough, particularly on the last day when it was very muddy: it felt like driving on ice. I’m learning all the time and that’s a really nice feeling: a bit like my early days of circuit racing. I’m very happy, although I have no idea exactly how we are getting home tonight. It really doesn’t matter; I’m sure we’ll find a way..."
Kaj Lindstrom was also reminded of his earlier days in rallying. "It’s been really nice to be involved in a new project from the very beginning, and to help a driver develop in rallying," he said. "The fact that it is with Kimi and Red Bull just makes it all the more special for me. I have to say that he has been really impressive on this event: you would never guess that he has so little experience in a rally car. I know that we can build on this progress now."
The next event for Kimi and Kaj in the Red Bull Citroen will be the Rally of Portugal from May 28-30, but before then they are hoping to do some testing in order to increase their experience.