From WRC.com

World Rally Championship convert Kimi Raikkonen will make his competitive debut in a Citroen C4 on January's Arctic Lapland Rally - a fortnight before his 2010 WRC campaign kicks off in Sweden.

Based from Rovaniemi, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, the event, the opening round of the Finnish championship, has been run for 45 years and is sometimes used as a test for the winter rallies in the WRC. Previous winners include former WRC champions Marcus Gronholm, Tommi Makinen and Hannu Mikkola.

Raikkonen made his rally debut on the snowy event earlier this year, finishing 13th in a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 co-driven by Kaj Lindstrom. The pair will tackle next year's edition, which starts on 29 January, in the same C4 World Rally Car they will use on 12 rounds of the WRC.

Contracted to Ferrari until the end of 2009, Raikkonen is limited in what he can say about his rally programme until the New Year and confirmed the appearance via a statement on his website.

However speaking exclusively to wrc.com, Lindstrom felt the Arctic would be invaluable experience for Kimi, who is yet to drive a Citroen C4 World Rally Car.

Lindstrom said: "Getting the Arctic Rally in our programme was a key factor - we really wanted to include it as a pre-season test. It's a rally that Kimi and I have already done together in the Fiat, so he knows the stages - more or less - and it will be a good opportunity for him to build confidence in his driving and the pace notes.

"He hasn't had the experience of listening to, or working with, pace notes since rally Finland. As far as I know the route for the Artic this year will be same as it was last year, so we can use the old notes, and that will be very useful preparation - both for Sweden and the championship," he added.

Lindstrom revealed a test in Finland before the Arctic Rally was also being discussed, to help Raikkonen make the transition from his Super 2000 Fiat to a turbocharged World Rally Car.

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From Autosport.com | & WRC.com

Citroen has announced that Kimi Raikkonen will join its World Rally Championship line-up in a Red Bull-backed Citroen Junior Team car.

The 2007 Formula 1 world champion will be joined in the Red Bull Citroen squad by former Junior WRC champion Sebastien Ogier, who completed an impressive WRC rookie season with the squad last year.

Raikkonen made his top flight rallying debut in an S2000 Abarth at his home round of the WRC in Finland earlier this year, earning the respect of the series regulars for the speed with which he adapted to driving on the stages. He has hinted for many years that he was keen to pursue a career in rallying after F1, and when he announced last month that he would take a sabbatical following the breakdown of his talks with McLaren, the WRC was seen as his most likely destination.

"I always wanted to compete in rally, especially in the World Rally Championship at some point in my career," said Raikkonen.

"Thanks to Red Bull, I have the opportunity to drive the best car of the series with the Citroen C4. This is a new but very exciting challenge."

Speculation has suggested that Raikkonen could return to F1 with Red Bull after his first WRC season. He confirmed that his Citroen deal only covered 2010 at present.

"For the moment we have a one-year contract and we will see how it goes for the future," Raikkonen said. "I am really looking forward to testing the car and taking the start of the first rally."

Citroen team boss Olivier Quesnel said he was delighted by Red Bull's increased involvement, and that the squad had such a strong Junior line-up in Raikkonen and Ogier alongside factory drivers Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo.

"Red Bull's commitment and energy are a perfect fit for Citroen's ongoing thirst for victory," Quesnel said. "We will continue to count on Sébastien and Dani to defend our world titles in 2010, and we will also be prolonging our association with Sebastien Ogier who showed outstanding potential this year.

"Last but not least, it is with immense joy that we welcome Kimi Raikkonen to our ranks. We are very proud that he has chosen Citroen.

"In addition to the confirmation of these four crews, we will hopefully be able to announce other programmes over the coming weeks."