Kimi is no fool on April 1

With millions of people all over the world playing practical jokes on each other for April Fools’ Day, the Jordan Rally was no exception.

So, in the spirit of the day, which of the following 10 statements are true and which are false?

• The youngest ever Pope was just 11 years old
• All zebras are white with black stripes
• The highest earthquake measurement possible on the Richter scale is 10
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the first US President to visit China
• Polar bears have white fur
• You can pop popcorn using a mobile phone
• More people are alive today than ever lived
• It takes 43 muscles to frown but only 17 to smile
• The first ship to use the ‘SOS’ message was the Titanic
• Kimi Raikkonen enjoys dressing up as a gladiator

Any ideas? Answers on a postcard? In actual fact, they are all false apart from the first one and arguably the last one. While the child Pope dates from the 11th century, Kimi Raikkonen’s willingness to impersonate a gladiator has only been in evidence from today.

Just before the start of the rally, held in the ancient city of Jerash close to Amman, the WRC drivers all dressed up as gladiators and chariot racers for a photocall. Some were even brave enough to try out the chariots for themselves.

Then it was onto the serious business of the first seven stages, which proved to be a successful outing for Kimi, who ended his day’s work in the top 10.

Apart from ‘do I really have to wear that?’, Kimi said the following: “Today was an interesting day – and I don’t just mean the costume. I don’t remember ever trying that before, but I suppose I am here for some new experiences...”

When it came to driving the car, Kimi felt quite a lot more comfortable. “I feel that it’s really coming now,” he added. “By the end of the day I had a very good feeling, and that’s just down to having had more time behind the wheel. I tried a few things and changed a few things, but the most important thing is that we made no big mistakes. We’ve still got a long way to go but it makes a big difference when you have more confidence and you know the road a bit. I’m hoping that tomorrow will be a bit easier for us too.”

Kimi’s experienced co‐driver Kaj Lindstrom managed to avoid any form of fancy dress throughout the entire day. “Maybe that’s one of the advantages of being a co‐driver,” he said. “I didn’t have to wear anything apart from my overalls so maybe it was an even more perfect day for me than it was for Kimi. It’s great to have got to the end of the first day with no real problems; now we need to keep it that way for the next two days.”