This year, he wanted to run his car prior to the event, so he could benefit from a first feel onboard of his Citroen C4 WRC on a few roads close to Jyvaskyla, the base for the rally. He drove the car for two days, at the end of which he admitted his excitement and optimism about the next week's official running.
“The test went really well, and it was great for us to have this experience before starting Rally Finland. Of course it helps a bit that I have done the rally last year, but the World Rally Car is such a step up from the Super 2000 car that it is like driving a completely different rally,” said Raikkonen according to Autosport, arguing his Finland test.
“We tested everything that we wanted to, and it was also useful to have the experience of preparing pace notes on these fast and technical roads. I'm really looking forward to Rally Finland: as a Grand Prix driver I never really got the chance to compete in the top class at home before, so I think that it's going to be a lot of fun.”
“We made a few adjustments to the car during the test but nothing major: I think we are in a good position to start the rally now,” added Raikkonen.
Unlike the other rallies so far, the Finnish event will begin on Thursday and will end on Saturday. In his last WRC event, in Turkey, Raikkonen started off impressively with a few Top 6 stage times, but crashed out midway through Day 1 and eventually finished it in 11th place.
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