WRC: Kubica On Road To Success?

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Since severely injuring himself in the 2011 Ronde di Andora rally, Robert Kubica has been on the road to recovery. It is much sadly unlikely that we will see Robert in F1 again, however, his injuries aren't stopping him from doing what he loves. Currently, the Pole competes in the European Rally Championship, racing for the Citroen Junior Team.



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Last week, when asked about his potential return to Formula 1, he simply said “I would pay all the money I have to be back in the cockpit of an F1 car, but at the moment Barcelona would be possible, Monaco would not.” Whether Kubica will be fit enough both physically and mentally, to race (and race well, more importantly) is still unknown.

However, evidently the 28 year old isn't exactly 'taking it 'easy'. Most people, myself included, would sit in front of some awful daytime TV with a bowl of chicken soup; and Robert has been doing quite the opposite.

It turns out Kubica has somewhat of a talent, in the art of going sideways. After pottering around in local rallies, with a mixed bag of results, the Pole stepped it up a notch. He joined the Citroen Junior Team, and hopped into a WRC spec Citroen DS3 RRC, and has so far completed in one of four planned outings in the 2013 European Rally Championship.

The first date on the calendar for Kubica, was Rally Islas Canarias. Kubica was performed astonishingly in Day 1, where he won every single stage, and was leading by over a minute at the end of the day. Day 2, didn't go quite as well. He crashed out on the first stage, which knocked him out of the rally completely. It's important to note, that the Rally Islas Canarias is a tarmac rally, and it's yet to be seen how he handles the rough stuff.

So far, it seems that Kubica has the ability to race with the big boys. Given that he learns to not crash.

Formula 1 and WRC are both very different. In F1, a driver is expect to learn the ins and outs of 20 turns. In WRC, a driver is expected to learn each stage of up to 10km, and complete 30 different stages in the rally. Racing lines, car handling and tactics very greatly; and yet, both require a certain talent. It seems this talent is not one for that specific discipline, but for racing as a whole. Many skills cover all motorsport: such as adapting to whatever circumstances arise, precision and manic attention to detail.

It's not uncommon for F1 drivers to move into Rally. 2007 F1 Champion, Kimi Raikkonen, famously jumped ships in 2009. However, the Finn failed to impress, finishing 10th in 2010 and 2011. In 1952, Sir Stirling Moss came 2nd in the Monte Carlo Rally. Jim Clark, in 1966, began competing in the RAC rally, and set multiple fastest stage times. He was thought to be a strong contender for the championship, but sadly died before the season finished.

Kubica owns multiple rally cars, and has actually competed in various forms of rally for longer than he was in F1. He plans to go on to drive in WRC2, the rally equivalent of GP2, and move on to WRC in 2014 - but it is rumored that the Pole may even move up to WRC this year, given his exemplary performance last weekend.

Despite his success and potential future in rally, it's still plausible for Robert to return to F1. It was previously rumored that Kubica was to become the Pirelli F1 test driver for this season - whether this is still a possibility is uncertain.

Pirelli boss Paul Hembery said "He is that type of person if, physically, he could get back in, maybe doing a year with us would put him in a good situation to come back in 2014. It would be wonderful if we could do that."

Whether it be a future in WRC, or a comeback to F1, I'm sure I speak for the masses when I say:

Good luck, Rob.
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I was always saying this guy had a great talent, maybe even the greatest in F1 for his time, but you can just see how much he's enjoying rallying aswel, why would he be doing it when he was doing F1? Why such a great risk?

This guy loves the adrenaline, and I think is as passionate about rallys as F1. After all he turned down a Mercedes DTM offer for this! I wish him well in the Rally Portugal next week and his short Fafe Sprint Rally tommorow aswel as rest of the season!

PS. He has crashed out on 2nd, not 1st, stage of day 2, on first he was 1.1s slower than Kopecky :)
 
This guy does what he loves basically. You can see the passion in him while he is driving unlike some other drivers unfortunately. I really hope we still get to see him in F1 :/
 

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