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epiclyaddicted
22nd August 2011, 11:28
Raikkonen to test Peugeot's Le Mans car with a view to a 2012 deal


Kimi Raikkonen will test the Peugeot 908 Le Mans car at Spanish circuit Motorland Aragon on Wednesday.

It is understood that it could lead to a possible outing in next year's Le Mans 24 Hours, with Peugeot keen to evaluate Raikkonen's speed in the car.

Raikkonen has admitted that he is keen on competing at Le Mans, but if he was to do so, he would want an expanded programme of races for the marque.

"It would be great to do Le Mans," Raikkonen told Finland's Turun Sanomat. "But if you race there, you should do some races as a test as well. It could be tricky to get all the schedules working well."

Peugeot has previously tested seven-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb and is keen to run high-profile drivers at Le Mans, as it did when 1997 Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve was in its line-up in 2007 and '08.

PSA Peugeot Citroen management board member Jean-Marc Gales declined to confirm Raikkonen's test, but admitted that it was possible and that a race seat could be on the cards if he was fast enough.

"I don't exclude that [Raikkonen testing the car], " Gales told AUTOSPORT. "But nothing has been decided on our pilots for Peugeot for next year.

"Clearly, it depends how fast he is and I can't comment on that because we haven't done it yet."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93874

I've been wanting to see Kimi do Le Mans since he left F1. Finally he comes to his senses, enough of that rallying and Nascar rubbish! :-D

Would love to see him at the Le Mans 24 hours next year!

Rob
22nd August 2011, 15:25
That is good to read. Hope, he can get drive for next year with them. Think once he up speed with the car, he will be 1 of Pugs fastest drivers.

epiclyaddicted
22nd August 2011, 18:06
That is good to read. Hope, he can get drive for next year with them. Think once he up speed with the car, he will be 1 of Pugs fastest drivers.

Yeah, can you imagine if Peugeot pair him up with Ant Davidson and may be Alex Wurz, that will be a deadly driver combination! :-E

Pekka
23rd August 2011, 12:26
During the Neste Oil Rally Finland an interviewer asked Loeb and Räikkönen if they would be a pairing at Le Mans next year.. They didn't really deny it either.. ;-)

epiclyaddicted
24th August 2011, 12:05
Kimi Raikkonen in the 908 today in Aragon. Nothing has been scheduled or planned for the future

Peugeot Sport on twitter.

Rob
24th August 2011, 17:01
During the Neste Oil Rally Finland an interviewer asked Loeb and Räikkönen if they would be a pairing at Le Mans next year.. They didn't really deny it either.. ;-)

If it is the case, wouldnt be surprised if it was Loeb, Kimi and Seb Bourdais. If Kimi does become, get a full season drive with the Pugs. He would be their fast factory driver in that team.

Rob
24th August 2011, 17:02
Peugeot Sport on twitter.

watch this space :Hmm

Rob
24th August 2011, 17:29
Kimi Raikkonen completes Peugeot 908 test
By Sam Tremayne Wednesday, August 24th 2011, 15:49 GMT

2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen completed his maiden test in Peugeot's 908 Le Mans challenger at Motorland Aragon.

The Finn drove alongside Peugeot works drivers Franck Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin, Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Wurz, covering 35 laps during the day.

As revealed by AUTOSPORT Raikkonen is understood to be keen to return to racing, with a fully-paid rally drive unlikely for next year. The test could lead to a possible outing with Peugeot in next year's Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 31-year-old, who told Finalnd's Turun Sanomat that racing at Le Mans would be 'great', summarised the experience: "I enjoyed this test with Peugeot. The 908 is a really fun car to drive."

Peugeot Sport team manager Pascal Dimitri said the test had proved interesting, with Raikkonen offering valuable feedback on his first test.

"Kimi adapted very quickly to the car," Dimitri said, "and gave us a valuable technical feedback. It is always interesting to get inputs from drivers such as Kimi."

Peugeot's sport director Olivier Quesnel said the test had been planned 'for a long time' and that no decisions have been taken for the future.

"Originally, this test session was planned for a long time in order to prepare the rest of the season, on top of which we have allowed Kimi to discover the 908.

"As of today, nothing has been scheduled or planned for the future."

For more in-depth analysis of Kimi Raikkonen's future options, see this week's AUTOSPORT magazine.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93911

kurski
24th August 2011, 21:11
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg3/scaled.php?server=3&filename=nimetnli.png&res=medium

Pekka
25th August 2011, 17:39
http://racingnewsflash.com/content/autosport-r%C3%A4ikk%C3%B6nen-may-return-f1-next-year

Nova
25th August 2011, 19:07
Great to see...he's sorta ramblin around..better 2 c him here than in a nascar.

Rob
26th August 2011, 07:18
i thought NASCAR would of been god for him, there they just jump into car abd drive fast without really thinking about the set up or being team leader. I hope he gets on with the Pug LMP1.

Nova
29th August 2011, 21:15
Yea me too, I like watching him race..although I watched in the US when he tried the truck..it was so odd to
see a Ferrari driver racing a truck..made good headlines, but I dont think we will see that again.
He will probably do well in a Lemans racer. Not sure how he's getting on in the rally world.
Was a lot easier when it was broadcast here.