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KIMI RAIKKONEN - GRANDE PUNTO ABARTH S2000

Kimi Raikkonen tackled his second rally this weekend and again proved to be adept at the sport, never posting a time outside the top-10 in his Grande Punto Abarth before his pace was dramatically slowed when the F1 driver slipped into a ditch on the penultimate stage.

The SM Vaakuna Ralli, based in the town of Mikkelin, came up just weeks since Raikkonen made his rally debut on the previous round of the Finnish Rally Championship, the Arctic Lapland Rally, where a highly consistent and composed performance saw the 2007 F1 World Champion finishing in a highly credible 13th place overall. Since the Arctic Lapland Rally, Raikkonen has been busy testing for Scuderia Ferrari in the heat and dust of the Sajkir circuit in Bahrain as the F1 team gets to grips with the new F60 single-seater.

For this weekend's SM Vaakuna Ralli, it was back to the snow and ice, and Raikkonen was seated once again alongside experienced co-driver Kaj Lindström, and the pair kicked off their challenge for a good result on the short 6.45 km SS1 with a time of 4:12.6, which was just 8.4 secs off the stage winner and put the Ferrari F1 driver into a strong provisional ninth place in the Super 2000 category Grande Punto Abarth which the Finn has bought to contest selected rallies in his native land. The 8.45 km long SS2 saw the Finn posting the tenth fastest time, with a 4:57.7 (+9.5 secs) before the rally entered its key phase with several longer and tougher stages.

SS3, which at 23.90 km was to be the longest stage of the rally, saw Raikkonen a finish in a hugely impressive seventh place overall in a time of 13:25.9 (+21.3 secs) while the next stage (SS4, 12.98 km) ended with Raikkonen setting the ninth fastest scratch time (7:21.2, +13.4 secs) in the Grande Punto Abarth S2000 which is run by former FIA World Rally Champion Tommi Makkinen's rally preparation outfit. On SS5 (14.58 km) the Finn was on the move again, posting another seventh fastest time (8:51.8, +19.6 secs) and keeping the F1 star well on course for a top-10 finish in just his second-ever rally.

However all the good work by Raikkonen was undone as it all went wrong on the penultimate stage of the rally (SS6, 23.72 km), the second-longest stage of the event as the car slid into a ditch in the tricky conditions and needed the help of the enthusiastic spectators to eradicate it. With a stage time of 19:23.6, Raikkonen lost a huge 6:42.4 to be classified on the stage 43rd out of 43 remaining runners.

With that big setback behind him, the Finn immediately bounced back by posted the eight quickest time (6:16.0, +18.1 secs) on the last stage of the rally (SS7, 12.32 km) to finish the SM Vaakuna Ralli in 23rd place overall (17th in class). The rally was won outright for the fourth consecutive year by Jari Ketomaa in a Subaru Impreza WRX who was chased home by the Mitsubishi Evo IXs of Jarkko Nikara and Jussi Välimäki, while Joonas Lindroos (Honda Civic Type R) won GpN in 10th place overall. "This was a tough competition on demanding roads and it has for sure surely brought much experience for Kimi," commented Raikkonen's co-driver Lindström after the rally. The Finn plans to contest more rallies in his Grande Punto Abarth, but with the new F1 season rapidly building towards the season opening grand prix in Melbourne, Australia, on 29th March (in 32 days time) it is unclear when Raikkonen will be back in action on the rally tracks.

SM Vaakuna-Ralli, 20-21.02.2009 Mikkelin, Final Classification:

1.Jari Ketomaa-Miika Teiskonen Mik (Subaru Impreza WRX Sti) 56:19,4; 2.Jarkko Nikara-Petri Nikara (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 56:47,2; 3.Jussi Välimäki-Marko Sallinen (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 57:08,6; 4.Kristian Sohlberg-Peter Flythström (Subaru Impreza WRX) 57:20,5; 5.Jukka Ketomäki-Jarkko Alanen (Mitsubishi Lancer E10) 57:25,1; 6.Teemu Arminen-Seppo Varmavuo (Subaru Impreza WRX) 58:04,5; 7.Marko Kakko-Tuomo Hannonen Salo (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 58:33,1; 8.Joni Nikko-Aki Suutarinen (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 58:44,1; 9.Tommi Luostarinen-Jari Nukarinen (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 1:00:23,6; 10.Joonas Lindroos-Jouni Lampinen (Honda Civic Type R) 1:00:24,8; Selected: 23.Kimi Räikkönen-Kaj Lindström (Grande Punto Abarth S2000) 1:04:28,8.