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LONDON - Renault rookie Heikki Kovalainen escaped unhurt after a 200km/h crash in Formula One testing in Bahrain yesterday.
The 25-year-old Finn, who clambered out of the car after smashing into the barriers at the desert circuit, said he had "got caught out" in turn seven during the morning session.
"All the safety systems worked perfectly so I am fine, but there is a lot of damage to the car and I may not be able to start running again until tomorrow afternoon," Kovalainen said.
"That will delay our programme, which is frustrating, but the focus now is on working with the team to get the car ready as soon as possible.
"We are already in a good position after running for three days last week but there are still some preparations to be completed before we get to Melbourne."
Bahrain is hosting the final official test before the season kicks off in Australia on March 18.
Kovalainen has replaced Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso, who has moved to McLaren, in the Renault line-up alongside Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.
Toyota's Ralf Schumacher also sat out the afternoon session after bouncing over a kerb, hurting his back. French test driver Franck Montagny stood in but the team expected the German to resume tomorrow.
Ferrari set the pace, with Brazilian Felipe Massa and Finland's Kimi Raikkonen completing race distances. Massa lapped with a best time of 1min 31.260s, Raikkonen 1:31.590. Alonso was third quickest in 1:31.851.
BMW Sauber's Polish driver Robert Kubica was fourth. "There are still some problems that are annoying us so we have to find some compromise between reliability and performance before the start of the season," Kubica said.
"This test is crucial to us but, unfortunately, the problems are still there. We have had these problems a long time so the first lot of grands prix for us will be difficult."
- REUTERS
