Raikkonen: Japan the toughest yet

6th September 2010

By Charlie Contadeli

Kimi Raikkonen believes that Rally Japan will be one of the toughest challenges that he faces in his debut season in the World Rally Championship.

The Sapporo-based event, which gets underway on Thursday evening (September 9) features narrow roads, blind corners and inconsistent grip, with the latter being one of the areas where Raikkonen says he has struggled most this year.

“When the grip is changing all the time, it’s not been so easy for me,” said the 30-year-old. “You need experience to deal with those situations in rally, and I don’t have that yet. I think Japan is going to be very tricky from what I hear. For us, it is just a question of getting to the finish. What we need is just more kilometres in the car and more experience of the conditions.”

Raikkonen has not tested his Citroen C4 WRC since finishing seventh on the Tarmac-based Rallye Deutschland last month, so has pledged a cautious approach to Rally Japan.

“We’re going to use the first few stages just to see where we are, and then we can set a target,” added the Finn. “There’s no pressure: we’re just learning. Gravel rallies are always more tricky for me and this one is going to be especially tough I think.”

The 2007 Formula One world champion has yet to sign a deal for 2011, although he has previously stated that he would like to remain in the WRC next year.