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05:45 GMT, Friday, 9 May 2008 06:45 UK

Kovalainen passed fit for Turkey

McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen has passed a fitness test which will allow him to race in this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was knocked unconscious in a 150mph crash at the Spanish Grand Prix and governing body the FIA ordered him to undergo tests.

Kovalainen emerged unhurt after ploughing into the tyre barrier at Campsa corner at the Circuit de Catalunya on the 22nd lap of the race.

But he was knocked out by the impact and has no memory of the accident.

The Finn, 26, was released from hospital on Monday after several CT scans and described his injuries as a "slight headache and stiff neck".

But he has now put the crash behind him and is turning his attention to racing in Istanbul.

606: DEBATE
"Considering the force of the impact and the distance he went into the barrier he was very lucky not to break anything. "
RG

"Formula One is a risky business," said Kovalainen. "You know that as a driver, but you don't think about it.

"If you worry about things like that, you lose focus. I guess it's just not in my psyche."

He said he owed his lack of injury to the progress made in recent years on safety.

"All the parts of the accident - the car, the barrier, the lift from the car to the medical centre and then onto the hospital - all worked very well," he said at a news conference at the Turkish Grand Prix on Thursday.

"Although I was a little bit lucky, it is not only down to luck I came out of the crash, it is really due to the work that has paid off. I can't be more thankful about that.

"But we should carry on working on improving as much as we can. If there are any other areas where we think we can improve we should go for it."

After leaving Spain four days after his crash, Kovalainen travelled to his native Finland to resume training with team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Kovalainen will use the team's spare car from Barcelona in Turkey this weekend.

The McLaren team said a wheel rim failure caused his front left tyre to deflate in the middle of the tough Campsa right-hander in Barcelona.

They have established that a manufacturing fault caused the problem.

Live coverage of the Turkish Grand Prix on this website and Five Live Sports Extra this weekend




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Related to this story:

Mark Webber column (28 Apr 08 |  Formula One )
Kovalainen escapes 150mph crash (28 Apr 08 |  Formula One )
McLaren must improve - Hamilton (28 Apr 08 |  Formula One )
Raikkonen cruises to Spanish win (27 Apr 08 |  Formula One )
As it happened: Spanish GP (27 Apr 08 |  Formula One )
Spanish Grand Prix photos (27 Apr 08 |  Formula One )
F1 circuit guide (24 Apr 08 |  Formula One )

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