The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner BOBBY UNSER, who survived two nights of a blizzard in the wilderness, now must face the legal fallout.

A United States Forest Service official said yesterday that Unser was cited for violating the Federal Wilderness Act by driving a snowmobile into a wilderness area. The act prohibits motorized vehicles in wilderness areas, which are public lands.

Unser, 63, and a friend, ROBERT GAYTON, 36, were stranded in the mountains on the New Mexico-Colorado border after their snowmobiles broke down. The two left Unser's ranch at Chama, N.M., on Dec. 20. They spent two nights in the wilderness and were rescued after hiking through deep snow to a barn and using a phone there.