Kimi: down but not out?

Despite a sizeable accident on the final stage of the Rally Bulgaria today, the Citroen Junior Team is still holding out hope that Kimi Raikkonen will be able to re-start the second day of the rally tomorrow.

Raikkonen went off less than eight kilometres from the finish of SS4, Belmeken Lake, where he had set fifth-fastest time in the morning.

Nonetheless, having secured fourth place following his team mate Sebastien Ogier’s off in the morning, Raikkonen set off on a more aggressive strategy in the afternoon. He was the only Citroen driver to have opted for Pirelli’s soft-compound tyres, banking on some rain affecting the final two stages.

“I think it’s a good decision,” he said at midday service. “We’ll try something different and see what happens.”

The 2007 Formula 1 World Champion ran at a comparatively conservative pace throughout the penultimate stage, setting sixth-quickest time, but pushed much harder on the final stage, setting the opening two fastest split times despite conditions remaining warm and dry.

Raikkonen then went off towards the end of the stage, landing on his car’s roof. Although the accident was big enough to bring out the yellow flags, Citroen is not giving up hope that the former Grand Prix champion’s C4 WRC can be fixed tonight so that he can start day two under the super rally regulations, with a five-minute penalty per stage missed.

This means that Raikkonen would re-start just outside the top 20 tomorrow, but with every possibility of scoring manufacturer points and acquiring additional experience.

Citroen Junior Team manager Benoit Nogier commented: “We will look at the car when it is back and see if we can re-start under super rally tomorrow. That is certainly our hope, but we can only assess this once we see the car properly. ”

Source: WRC