Most liked posts in thread: Rally: Robert Kubica

Steve · Feb 28, 2013

Robert Kubica commits to European Rally Championship with Citroen (AutoSport.com)

By David Evans | Thursday, February 28th 2013, 17:07 GMT

Robert Kubica will begin his pursuit of the European Rally Championship title in a Citroen DS3 RRC on next month's Canaries Rally.

AUTOSPORT's sources insist the Polish driver has made an agreement with Citroen for this year's ERC, but Citroen team principal Yves Matton denied the deal was signed yet.

"It's looking good," Matton told AUTOSPORT, "but for now we are still in discussions. I expect to know something early in the next week, but the plan would be for Robert to start with Canarias."

Matton confirmed the deal with Kubica - when announced - would only be for rallying, not for any involvement in Citroen's future World Touring Car Championship bid.

Kubica will drive a Citroen DS3 RRC (Regional Rally Car) fitted with a hydraulically operated paddleshift, to make driving easier for his damaged right hand. The FIA inspected the hardware and software for the car earlier this week.

"I don't know what is the precise speed of the [gear] shift, in the car we propose for Robert," said Matton, "but it is sure that it will be slower than normal.

"Since I heard from the FIA, I didn't have the chance yet to talk more with Robert, but I will be doing that now."

To stand the best possible chance of winning this year's ERC title, Kubica will need to tackle eight of the remaining 11 rounds of the championship.

While precise details of Kubica's calendar will not be known before Citroen announces the deal in the next few days, it is certain he will compete in Gran Canaria and on his home round in Poland in September.

Eurosport, the promoter of the ERC, will be keen to see Kubica on the Mikolajki-based event, with Poland now being the station's biggest market. Representatives from Eurosport have made no comments about the latest developments in the deal.

Having worked initially with M-Sport, Kubica has more recently driven a Citroen C4 WRC, leading last year's Rallye du Var convincingly before crashing out after an incorrect pace note call.
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Steve · Mar 23, 2013

Crashton said: ↑

Wow watching that sent chills down my back. That looked like the same type of guard rail that almost took his life.
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Yup. Like someone else commented, 2 years ago it almost killed him, today it may have saved his life.

Steve · Nov 21, 2012

Video from the rally he won:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVCJpHqfSxo]Robert Kubica Citroen C4 WRC - 31Â° Rally di Como 2012 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 21, 2012

â€˜We hope he continuesâ€™ â€“ CitroÃ«n on Kubica (GPUpdate.net)

21 November 2012

Robert Kubica has received high praise from Benoit Nogier, the man who heads up the CitroÃ«n Junior Team and Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nenâ€™s boss for the past two years. This weekend, the Pole will be competing for the French outfit in the Ralle du Var.

Since his near-fatal rallying accident of February 2011, which had already left him on the sidelines for two Formula 1 seasons, Kubica has remarkably returned to competition and has already won a handful of junior rally events. This weekendâ€™s is expected to be the biggest test yet, with more experienced opponents taking part.

â€œOf course the level will be higher than in Italy, with people like Freddy Loix competing, but from what we saw last weekend Robert can win for sure,â€ Nogier tells the official WRC website, with Kubica having won the Rally di Como on Saturday.

â€œThe way he works and how he analyses situations is very impressive. He is still inexperienced in rallying, but his technical feedback is very good and he is doing all the right things. We hope he has a good rally and that he wants to carry on in the future.â€

Kubica made his F1 debut at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix after Jacques Villeneuve had been dropped by BMW; he finished in the points before being disqualified. The KrakÃ³w man scored pole position at the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix and won in Canada that year, then switched to Renault for what proved to be a sole campaign in 2010.
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Alan · Nov 22, 2012

I'd call it his second big near death experience crash:

Horror F1 crash Kubica airbourne into wall 300Kph Montreal 2007 HD

Steve · Nov 22, 2012

That was a horrific accident and it's amazing that he didn't end up with at least an extended stay in a hospital. That's the big difference though, the incident in Montreal gave him only a sprained ankle and a light concussion. It definitely looks like one of those life-flashing-before-your-eyes moments but the outcome was he skipped only one race as a precaution (Indy, subbed by Vettel) and returned to finish 4th in the next. Amazing safety tech + a pile of good luck.

Crashton · Nov 22, 2012

Good luck is an asset. I hope Robert continues to have good luck. He is quite a racer/rally driver. I'm very happy to see him back in competitive competition.

Steve · Nov 23, 2012

Kubica leads Rallye du Var at end of Day 1 (irallylive.com)

Robert Kubica, who only began his motorsport comeback in September, leads the Rallye du Var in France tonight at the end of the opening day.

The Polish former F1 driver, who suffered bad arm and hand injuries during last yearâ€™s Ronde di Andora Rally near Genoa, returned to rally action at the Ronde Gomitolo di Lana in September and won that - he's been on a winning streak since.

This week there have been rumours suggesting a possible 2013 campaign in ERC or WRC.

Tonight, co-driven by Emanuele Inglesi in a CitroÃ«n C4 WRC, Kubica leads Freddy Loix's Peugeot 307 WRC by 1 minute 25 seconds, with CÃ©dric Robert a further 39.2 seconds adrift in a Peugeot 207 S2000.

Kubica has won all 4 stages.

There are 5 more stages tomorrow and 3 more on Sunday before the finish.
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Crashton · Nov 23, 2012

I'm pulling for Robert.

Steve · Nov 24, 2012

Rally du Var: Update after SS8 (irallylive.com)

24.11.2012 12:52

Robert Kubica was - duly- fastest again on Rallye du Var Stage 8 La MÃ´le, going through the 7.58km stage in his CitroÃ«n C4 WRC in 5 minutes 6.0 seconds. That's 8 stage wins out of 8.

Craig Breen was second fastest in his Peugeot 207 S2000, his time 17.7 seconds slower.

There's one stage left today - SS9 Videauban 31.74km. It gets under way at 1625 local time (CET) - and 3 more tomorrow before the finish.

Here's how they stand:

Robert Kubica (CitroÃ«n C4 WRC) leads
CÃ©dric Robert (Peugeot 207 S2000) +4:07:5
Romain Dumas (Porsche 996 GT3 RS) +5:52:9
Pierre Roche (Mini Countryman WRC) +5:59:3
Julien Maurin (Ford Fiesta WRC) +6:03:2
Gilles Nantet (Porsche 997 Cup) +6:13:1
Charles Zuccarelli (Peugeot 206 WRC) +6:37:6
J-C Beaubelique (Ford Focus WRC) +7:28:4
StÃ©phane Consani (CitroÃ«n DS3 R3) +7:33:3
Craig Breen (Peugeot 207 S2000) +7:53:7
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Crashton · Nov 24, 2012

Wow he is the class of the field & by a huge margin. That's great!!!

Steve · Nov 25, 2012

Damn... :frown5:

Kubica off and out in France (irallylive.com)

25.11.2012 09:36

Robert Kubica, who'd dominated the Rallye du Var, is out of the rally after going off on Stage 11 CollobriÃ¨res.

The Polish ex-F1 driver had won all the previous stages, and led CÃ©dric Robert's Peugeot 207 S2000 by more than 5 minutes 48 seconds when he went off in his CitroÃ«n C4 WRC.

Robert now leads with the final stage under way, Romain Dumas is second in his Porsche 996 GT3 RS and Gilles Nantet third in a Porsche 997 Cup.

Craig Breen, in the Sainteloc Peugeot 207 S2000 has moved up to fourth after winning the CollobriÃ¨res stage.
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Robert wins Var, Breen third (irallylive.com)

CÃ©dric Robert, driving a Peugeot 207 S2000 and co-driven by Matthieu Duval, has won the 2012 Rally du Var - they finished 1 minute 45.9 seconds ahead of Romain Dumas and Jean-Noel Vesperini in their Porsche 996 GT3 RS.

Robert Kubica, who'd led the rally winning the first 10 stages, went off on Stage 11 in his CitroÃ«n C4 WRC. The crew was OK, but the car reported damaged by a fire.

Craig Breen and Paul Nagle won the final 2 stages of the event to take third overall in their Peugeot 207 S2000. Julien Maurin was fourth in a Fiesta S2000.

Breen, the 2012 SWRC champion, said in the end it was a great result:

"Iâ€™m really delighted, this has been a hectic rally and Iâ€™m thrilled to finish third and get on the podium. We knew this morning that fourth was possible, so we decided to for it. Iâ€™m sorry for Robert [Kubica]; he had a great drive all weekend.â€

â€œAt one point yesterday I was down in 20th position but apart from the punctures Iâ€™ve been really happy with my speed. Setting fastest time on Stage 11 this morning was great and then on the final stage we still had to push and it worked, itâ€™s been a fantastic rally. I want to thank all the Sainteloc team, the 207 has been great. Iâ€™ve really enjoyed my time all year with the team and have learned a huge amount."

" Itâ€™s ideal to finish the year here in France. I began the season just up the road on the Monte in January and Rallye du Var bookends another big seasn for me.â€
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Crashton · Nov 25, 2012

Damn indeed...:frown2: I bet he is kicking himself pretty hard. Makes you wonder how with a 5:48 lead he could do that. Misheard a pace-note or something?

Well he has the speed. Go get them next time Robert!

Steve · Nov 30, 2012

Interesting thread crossover here.

Crashton · Feb 28, 2013

Makes me happy Robert will be driving a competitive car. I wish him luck in his run for the ERC title.

Steve · Mar 4, 2013

Kubica to contest WRC2 with CitroÃ«n (best-of-rallylive.com)

04/03/2013 9:35 am

Polandâ€™s Robert Kubica has decided to contest the FIA WRC2 and the FIA European Rally Championship in a CitroÃ«n DS3 RRC.

Robert Kubicaâ€™s Formula 1 career (76 Grands Prix) came to a sudden halt after a frightening accident on the Ronde di Andora on February 6, 2011, when he suffered bad arm and hand injuries. Today, the Pole has decided to turn his attention to rallying after a recent DTM test with Mercedes.

The 28-year old will take part in seven events of the WRC2 in a CitroÃ«n DS3 RRC, as well as selected European championship qualifying rounds. His CitroÃ«n DS3 RRC will be equipped with a hydraulic paddle shift system (to the left of the steering wheel) to facilitate gear changes. This special dispensation has been approved by the FIA.

â€œI weighed up the different options before deciding on this programme,â€ he said in the official CitroÃ«n press release. â€œI kept in touch with CitroÃ«n Racing and both sides were keen to continue working together. Iâ€™m really pleased now to be able to return to top-level racing. Taking part in Rally Islas Canarias will be an interesting challenge for me. I canâ€™t wait to start racing, but I havenâ€™t set myself any specific target. I still have a lot to learn in rallying and to improve I will need to rack up the miles on the stages.â€

Robert Kubica is poised to contest the Rally Islas Canarias (March 21-23), round three of the 2013 European championship, before making his WRC debut â€“ on gravel â€“ in Portugal (April 11-14).
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Steve · Mar 4, 2013

ANALYSIS: Kubica's rally challenge (Racer.com)

David Evans | March 04, 2013

When Robert Kubica signed up to contest the Ronde di Andora in February 2011, the organizers of the event must have been delighted with all the potential publicity of having a former grand prix winner on the entry list.

Then his Skoda Fabia S2000 drifted wide on a slippery right-hander, hit the wall and the barrier. The Ronde di Andora got its 15 minutes of fame and Formula 1 has since been deprived the kind of talent which would almost certainly have been a force for the F1's World Championship by now.

Now, though, Kubica and rallying have altogether more positive connotations as the Polish driver sets out his 2013 intentions in the World Rally Championship. And it'll be intriguing to see how he gets on.

The FIA has given Kubica dispensation to drive with a paddle shift gearbox, due to the hand and arm injuries he sustained in the crash on the Ronde di Andora Rally. The paddle shift, placed on the left of the steering wheel, has been specifically designed to have a slower shift to match the gearchange speed of a conventional RRC gearbox.

It's a fair assumption that Kubica will be at the sharp end of the European Rally Championship field in the Canaries later this month, but it's his WRC debut which will be the more interesting proposition. It would be easy -- especially following his hugely strong performances in a C4 WRC toward the end of last season -- to consider the Pole a strong proposition for the WRC 2 title. But there's more to consider.

And there's Esapekka Lappi to remember. The 22-year-old is the latest Finn to find fame in the rally world and won every round of the Finnish Rally Championship last season. This year, he's driving a factory Skoda Fabia S2000 in WRC 2 and is widely regarded to be the benchmark for this season's series. It's impossible to say where Kubica will slot into the Rally of Portugal classification when he goes up against Lappi and the rest of the WRC 2 field for the first time.

Especially in Portugal. The Faro-based event is one of the hardest WRC rounds to learn and make pace notes on for the first time.

The usually smooth gravel roads high above the Algarve are exceptionally hard to fathom, with direction changes regularly coming on the top or just beyond blind crests. It's a place where experience and blind faith in the man sitting next to you counts for everything.

It's going to be fascinating to watch a consummate professional and vastly talented driver like Kubica come to terms with the latest challenge in his career.

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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Steve · Mar 6, 2013

Kubica might just be too fast on Tarmac (MaxRally.com)

by Richard Rodgers / 6th March 2013

Robert Kubica might need to slow down when he embarks on a combined programme of European championship and WRC 2 events in 2013.

That’s the view of Citroen Racing boss Yves Matton, who saw off several other suitors to secure the Formula One race winner’s services for this season.

Matton believes that Kubica’s pace on asphalt is so great that he might need to consider lifting off the gas in order to build his experience by finishing rallies.

Speaking exclusively to MAXRALLY, Matton said: “We can do a great job together. He’s highly motivated, very professional and we can bring him a lot of things. I am sure on asphalt it will be more for him to maybe a little slow down, not counting a rally like a qualifying lap [in a race]. The only question we don’t know is what will be his level on gravel.

“He did some test or something but really nothing. We will do one rally before [Portugal] and also a couple of test days and will try to set up a programme to let him drive a lot of rallies on gravel. For sure he will not be 100 per cent for Portugal but this is a season to learn, it’s not a season to try to win each rally in his category or something like that.”

Kubica will start his new career as a Citroen driver on Rally Islas Canarias next month. PH Sport will run his DS3 Regional Rally Car.
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Steve · Mar 23, 2013

Kubica started his ERC run this weekend. It's a good news bad news story. Make that very good, very bad...though it could have been worse and in the video below you'll see that it nearly was.

Kubica dominates on opening loop in ERC Canarias (iRallylive.com)

22.03.2013 10:54

Robert Kubica, on his European Rally Championship dÃ©but, setting all the headlines in his CitroÃ«n DS3 Regional Rally Car by winning the 3 opening stages at ERC Rally Islas Canarias, round 3 of the 2013 European Rally Championship.

After the loop the Polish driver leads Jan Kopecky in the Skoda Fabia S2000 by 38.4 with Craig Breen third a further 15.2 seconds behind: Breen in the Peugeot 207 S2000 picking up a 10 second penalty after deciding to switch tyres just before leaving for this morning.

Kubica on soft Michelin tyres getting the choice exactly right for the first 2 stages, which were damp, wet and misty... he may have also benefited from the 1.6 turbo on the DS3....the other drivers with normally-aspirated 2-litre cars.

Kubica: "Conditions were very tricky..in the mountains it was wet, sometimes dry, sometimes 50/50...first 2 stages very wet, tricky, but so far so good...we are just getting experience for the future...weather gets even worse.."

"You have to be lucky...we have to make sure we get best tyre choice for this afternoon...just driving...no real plan, we are driving at what we think is a reasonable pace, no risks...we just drive...new car, new rally, new co-driver...I'm driving...for sure the car is working well..."

"we have less power, more torque which helps in these conditions...it's part of the game....tricky conditions when you drive on wet...tyre choice was not easy...the feeling was OK....I need to improve my driving...that's why we are here...get a feeling with the car...."

"Honestly I was going to put intermediates! It has been right choice, so that was right..."

Kopecky: "I am not surprised Robert is so very fast....first 2 stages were difficult: I had medium compound in front and was not confident"

Breen: "Robert is doing a fantastic job....we are still not too far behind Jan, so it's all to play for...."

The cars now in Service ahead of a repeat of the morning loop, with 2 further stages in the late afternoon before the end of the day...
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Kubica drives a straight eight in Canarias (iRallylive.com)

22.03.2013 19:58

Robert Kubica, whose racing career so nearly came to an end on the 2011 Ronde di Andorra in Italy in February 2011, has made an outstanding dÃ©but in the European Rally Championship by winning all eight stages on the opening day of ERC Rally Islas Canarias.

With support from CitroÃ«n Racing, the Polish ex-F1 driver took his CitroÃ«n DS3 RRC to fastest on all 8 stages in the day, ending 1 minute 6.7 seconds ahead of Å kodaâ€™s Jan KopeckÃ½ in his Fabia S2000, and 1 minute 51.0 up on Craig Breen in the Peugeot Sport 207 S2000. Breen's teammate JÃ©rÃ©mi Ancian is in fourth place overnight.

Kubica: "It has been a good day, on the last stage we lost about 10-12 seconds...nice day for us, very, very good...."

KopeckÃ½ doubts he can catch the Polish driver who gets the extra boost of a 1.6 litre turbo engine on the ascents: "I don't think so, he is driving really well....there's a lot of uphill on this rally..."

There are bonus points 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for the top 7 finishers overnight: not among them is Daniel Oliveira, whose Ford Fiesta RRC lost fifth gear on the lunchtime loop: the team decided the gearbox swap was too big a repair in the time allocated.

Andreas Aigner in a Subaru Impreza STI R4 is sixth overall behind the MINI of Luis MonzÃ³n - Aigner heads the Production Cup category. Joan Vinyes led 2WD for most of the day before hitting trouble in his Suzuki Swift S1600 on the final stage: Enrique Garcia in a DS3 R3T leads the class: he's seventh overall tonight.

There are 6 stages tomorrow to complete the rally.
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The wheelâ€™s come off the Kubica express (MaxRally.com)

by Giles Wade / 23rd March 2013

Robert Kubica has crashed out of Rally Islas Canarias.

Having just been beaten on the Spanish island event for the first time, Kubica lost control of his Citroen DS3 RRC while braking for a right-hand bend 16 kilometres into the San Bartolome de Tirajana - Disa stage. The rear of the car stepped out and smacked a barrier, damaging the left-rear wheel.

The team has confirmed both crew members are uninjured and on their way back to the service park in Las Palmas.

Kubica was undefeated through yesterday's eight stages and took a lead of more than a minute into today's final day.
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Robert Kubica: what went wrong in Canarias (iRallylive.com)

23.03.2013 17:39

Robert Kubica is quoted on the fiaera.com website after his exit from ERC Rally islas Canarias:

â€œIt was a shame but unfortunately we were in a high-speed downhill section. It was a quite fast corner but easy flat out. It was not very heavy braking but quite big braking into a third-gear corner. Unfortunately when I hit the brakes I lost the rear of the car and I had to reduce the pressure otherwise I would spin and the road was very narrow. Then I just didnâ€™t manage. I was completely sideways before the corner. Not completely but quite a lot of sideways. I tried to do the corner but I hit the barrier. I didnâ€™t reduce enough speed but I hit the barrier with the rear-left corner. Then with the front we dived into the barrier. Itâ€™s a shame but unfortunately this can happen.â€

â€œYesterday was a very positive day for us with a lot of positive experience. Today is the complete opposite but we have to take a step forward and take out the experience. Unfortunately today was a negative experience but itâ€™s part of driving.â€
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What is it with Kubica and metal barriers? Deja vu, Robert?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyJzH9pRakw]Accidente Rober Kubica 37 Rally Islas Canarias - YouTube[/ame]

Crashton · Mar 23, 2013

Wow watching that sent chills down my back. That looked like the same type of guard rail that almost took his life.

He is fast, but needs to back it off a notch or two. He sure is fearless.

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