Raikkonen Cancels C4 Test Prior to Rally Mexico

Kimi Raikkonen had to cancel his gravel test with the Citroen C4 WRC this weekend due to back pain. Less than one week before the second round of the 2010 championship in Mexico, the Finnish driver wanted to drive his new car on road conditions similar to what he'll encounter across the Atlantic.

This would have been his first ever running of the C4 WRC on gravel, so its needless to say the test was quite important in terms of preparation for Rally Mexico. Nevertheless, he didn't want to proceed to it while risking his own medical condition, so he decided to cancel it.

“My plan had initially been to take part in a test session on gravel, in order to get to know the Citroen C4 WRC a bit better on a new surface for me. But unfortunately I experienced a bit of back pain that stopped me from driving. I've had some treatment now but I preferred to rest before leaving for Mexico,” said Raikkonen.

“Of course I would have liked to test the car before going, but it was important to recuperate in order to start the second rally of the season in the best possible physical shape,” added the Finnish driver.

He reiterated his belief that Rally Mexico will be easier to handle than Rally Sweden – as gravel will replace snow on the rally roads – but admitted he still lacks the experience to do a consistent rally from one end to another on this type of surface.

“I reckon that we will find a more consistent level of grip on gravel. But for the moment I'm still lacking experience. I just need to get more kilometres in the car in order to get used to the Citroen C4 WRC in particular and rallying in general,” added the former F1 driver.