Kimi a non starter after shakedown smash

Kimi Raikkonen has made a shock early exit from Rally de Espana after he rolled his Citroen C4 WRC at this morning’s pre-event Shakedown.

The Finn was making his first pass through the three kilometre test stage which, like Friday’s opening day of the rally, featured a mixed surface of asphalt and gravel.

Raikkonen was on a tarmac section when his car clipped a left-hand corner and ricocheted into a steep bank on the opposite side of the road. The car rolled at least once, picking up extensive panel damage before coming to rest on its wheels.

Kimi and co-driver Kaj Lindstrom were uninjured the smash and managed to drive the car back to the service park in Salou. However an inspection by the Citroen Junior team revealed damage to the roof section of the roll cage, which means Raikkonen will not be able to start the rally.

The exit is a disaster for Raikkonen who was expected to do well on the sweeping asphalt of Rally de Espana - the closest that world rallying comes to circuit racing.

Before the rally, Raikkonen said: “If we can be near the top six then that would be great, but the main thing is just to get to the end. If you go like crazy on the first day and go off, then you don’t learn anything. And that’s why I’m here: to learn."