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Raikkonen takes first NASCAR steps
Source: Agencies |
April 8, 2011, Friday
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FORMER Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen has completed a two-day test of a Toyota Tundra truck at the start of his transition to NASCAR stock car racing.
"It was a lot of fun, I really had no expectations or anything to compare it to beforehand but at the end of the day, I am really looking forward to the first race," the Finn wrote on his team's Facebook page.
"It seems like KBM is a top team and I am excited to work with them," he added after the private test at Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia ended on Tuesday.
"Overall the test went really well. We ran about 400 laps total between Monday and Tuesday. Kimi provided good feedback that allowed us to make our Toyota Tundra go faster," the team's general manager Rick Ren said.
"He is very methodical with his acceleration, braking and steering and there is no doubt that he has a good feel for a race vehicle. We threw a lot at him over the two days," he said on Wednesday.
"For being unfamiliar with a truck and unfamiliar with the track, he did an outstanding job."
Team owner Kyle Busch, who shone in all three of NASCAR's top national divisions, was there for guidance at the 800-meter oval which is not part of the usual NASCAR schedule. Photographs on the ICE1 Racing team page showed Raikkonen in an all-black driving suit with no sponsorship.
Raikkonen is scheduled to make his NASCAR debut on May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 2,410 meters high banked, high speed oval which some drivers consider daunting for a first race.
"I don't know if he feels that he wants a challenge right off the bat, but I think it will be good for him," Busch told reporters last weekend.
Colombian ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya said: "My first choice wouldn't be Charlotte to start my first race."
Busch also told reporters that Raikkonen would be running three to five races when they did clash with the World Rally Championship.
"It was a lot of fun, I really had no expectations or anything to compare it to beforehand but at the end of the day, I am really looking forward to the first race," the Finn wrote on his team's Facebook page.
"It seems like KBM is a top team and I am excited to work with them," he added after the private test at Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia ended on Tuesday.
"Overall the test went really well. We ran about 400 laps total between Monday and Tuesday. Kimi provided good feedback that allowed us to make our Toyota Tundra go faster," the team's general manager Rick Ren said.
"He is very methodical with his acceleration, braking and steering and there is no doubt that he has a good feel for a race vehicle. We threw a lot at him over the two days," he said on Wednesday.
"For being unfamiliar with a truck and unfamiliar with the track, he did an outstanding job."
Team owner Kyle Busch, who shone in all three of NASCAR's top national divisions, was there for guidance at the 800-meter oval which is not part of the usual NASCAR schedule. Photographs on the ICE1 Racing team page showed Raikkonen in an all-black driving suit with no sponsorship.
Raikkonen is scheduled to make his NASCAR debut on May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 2,410 meters high banked, high speed oval which some drivers consider daunting for a first race.
"I don't know if he feels that he wants a challenge right off the bat, but I think it will be good for him," Busch told reporters last weekend.
Colombian ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya said: "My first choice wouldn't be Charlotte to start my first race."
Busch also told reporters that Raikkonen would be running three to five races when they did clash with the World Rally Championship.
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