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Raikkonen Crashes Out of Catalunya during Shakedown

Kimi Raikkonen was supposed to start 12-out-of-13 rallies this season, with his Red Bull sponsor not able to cover the Rally New Zealand event back in early May. However, it seems the Finn will only get to contest in 11 rounds of his maiden WRC campaign, as he severely crashed his car prior to the ceremonial start of this weekend's Rally de Catalunya.

During this morning's shakedown, Raikkonen's Citroen C4 clipped the inside bank of a left-hand corner and rolled over. Although the incident did not result in any major injuries for Raikkonen or his co-driver, the car was damaged beyond repair – at least not in time for the official start of the rally today – and the Citroen mechanics decided to end Kimi's Catalunya experience right away.

Kimi has rolled in a left corner. The car went tipped on a bank on the inside and rolled to the outside. The car is quite bad, we don't know if they will start,” was the preliminary evaluation of the team right after the crash.

Raikkonen's lack of experience in this type of event might have been the cause of his crash. The shakedown for this year's Rally de Catalunya featured a mixed-surface of asphalt and gravel, with all teams going for Pirelli's Scorpion gravel tires and also gravel suspension. The crash occurred while Raikkonen was driving on asphalt, where the car's gravel setup usually makes cornering a bit more difficult.

This is only the latest crash in a pretty long series for Raikkonen in 2010, his first full-campaign in the WRC. However, as the season end approaches, so do his chances of reaching a continuation deal inside the championship, as he is yet to settle his plans for next year once and for all.
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