Kubica wins Acropolis Rally in WRC2 class

Well in the last few weeks in Italian and Polish media, there have been several editorial oppinions in stating no news from Kubica means there is no hope for a comeback.

Then there was a video interview with Cezary Gutowski for Polish sport.f1 site in which he said Kubica has had another operation on his elbow, and Gutowski spoke to people in the paddock in Monaco and thinks 3 or 4 teams are interested in him if he makes a comeback to f1, but he also says he has until August to recover if he has a chance for the 2013 season with a decent team.
[powrotroberta.blogspot.com.au]

Well now news has come out on several websites:
[translate.google.com]

Kubica has already been in a simulator, and they decided that he needed another surgery, as he couldnt rotate his right arm properly, when turning left, he had to lift his right hand off the steering wheel.

So on May 25, Kubica has 2 prosthetics put in the elbow area, which is said will now free up the movement, and is the last obsticle to a return to health.

here is info on elbow prostheses: [depts.washington.edu]

He already has feeling returned to his fingers according to the latest article on "return kubica" blog:
[powrotroberta.blogspot.com]

That blog also has other interesting things, like forum members that met him or saw him at a resteraunt, and saying he looks healthy and in good humour.
with no-one knowing if there infact was or is a verbal agreement with ferrari, it seems Williams may be an option for kubica, as Frank Williams reportly has said he will offer to test him in a simulator as soon as he is ready.

He has already driven gokarts and rally cars recently, mostly in secret, until this video came out:




there are photos from that event, him and another driver were taking turns driving the car, can be seen on the above blog.

maybe he will come back looking like this:
[kwejk.pl]



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2013 05:51PM by kubica2.

todays issue of autosport magazine:
[digitaledition.autosport.com]

It is nice to see progress, even if it's slow.

Will he return to F1? I still doubt. But I do hope he can return to motor racing in some form or another. Obviously not to the same extent, but it's a similar story to Bellof. Championship quality not given the chance to prove it.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

chet Wrote:
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> It is nice to see progress, even if it's slow.
>
> Will he return to F1? I still doubt. But I do hope
> he can return to motor racing in some form or
> another. Obviously not to the same extent, but
> it's a similar story to Bellof. Championship
> quality not given the chance to prove it.


one can only imagine what he'd be doing in the Lotus.

i hope he returns to motorsport he loves it, but i'm very exceptical on his F1 return, the field is too tight and i doubt he still haves that reaction speed needed in F1, especially in the hands.

entering that rally was the worst decision he ever made, now it's all about trying to return and i wish him the best of luck, it'll be very emotional to see him behind the wheel of a proper racing car

To be honest, I'm not certain if he'd be any faster than Raikkonen or Grosjean, albeit probably more consistent.

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X (@ed24f1)

what i am taking as a possitive at the moment with regards to kubica, is that the first racing cars he has jumped into after a terrible rally accident, are rally cars. shows he has not been scared off from the sport by the accident. and also that he has chosen to have that new surgery, he could have decided enough is enough - but he chose another surgery to try to reach his goal of a comeback. and he has been doing hours of rehab each day. that sort of determination i think is what will help him get back.

guys have a look at this 2 photos, they are eerily similar crashes to kubicas rally crash.


this was a week or so ago i believe, look at the driver standing uninjured next to his guardrail impaled car!
[www.facebook.com]

and today we had the sad news that a 24year old co-driver in IRC has died in a crash where the car was again impaled by a guard rail
[resources3.news.com.au]

i think its time they did something about the exposed guard rail ends in rallying.

It's wrong that they're not protected. We've now had a fatality, let's hope something is done soon...

RIP Gareth Roberts.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

kubica photographed a couple of days ago at a rally by a Polish fan and uploaded to twitter:
[24.media.tumblr.com]
[25.media.tumblr.com]
she later removed all info about photos from twitter, she said on twitter he was walking normally, acting normally, driving a car normally, but when asked to do a photograph he made sure to hide his right hand. He was in good spirit. to me hiding his hand from photgraphy means he is still not rehabilitated, and he does not want the media scrutineering.

unfortunantly during the particular rally he attended this happened..... a shocking fatal accident in which a car drove off the track into a ditch and somehow burst in the flames, driver couldnt get out and died, reading on polish sites, the driver may have lived close to kubica and possibly kubica knew him. i wonder if this will turn him off from a comeback:
[www.rajdy.v10.pl]
[iltirreno.gelocal.it]

the photo of him bought a smile to my face, it is good to see him smiling and looking like he is living a normal life, and attending motorsport events instead of sitting at home depressed. from a recent report i read,his recent elbow surgery to free his elbow movement was not a complete success. so even though he has regained all functions of his hand, the last stumbling block to a recovery is his crushed elbow, which has been rebuilt a couple of times, including with prosthetics in June. it seems it is still not good enough for a return to racing due to him not being able to correctly rotate his wrist and hand past his elbow. i hope he can make a return, he has overcome so much so far, including losing so much blood initially, a massive many-hour long micro surgery operation to avoid amputation, about 12 operations in total, hours a day of rehab. if he returns to f1, it will be the most remarkable comeback ever, possibly in any sport.

I am sure he is able to return to racing now in other motorsports like rally, which we have already seen him driving in this year, but his goal is for an f1 return, and i dont know if he will bother signing himself up to compete in other motorsports, he will probably just do what he is doing now, compete privatly for fun and attend a few races now and then.

wow that was a bad accident, RIP, poor guy, horrible way to go.

i wouldn't read too much about Kubica's relation to this driver, sometimes media likes to twist and add stuff.

hopefully he makes a comeback someday, though time's passing by, and honestly i can't see him next season yet, it seems he's still a way to go.

but if he can he should try other series first, like GT or so

Kubica was at the funeral of the "2" drivers that past away it was reported today. what a way to go. in their 3rd ever rally, they fall into a hole on the side of the road, their car catches fire and the driver and co driver can not open the doors because of the way the car is laying in the hole, and they burn to death. here is a photo of the funeral:
[www.facebook.com]

Hi, most of you probably read about Kubicas secret rally test in a Ford WRC with the 2 factory drivers.

It has also been said on a few sites that one more operation is planned (possibly cosmetic), or it was old news relating to the recent elbow surgery.

In the past few days there have been rumours Kubica will start a race for the first time next week, and yesterday on italian websites it was reported that he also recently tested a 2008 Subaru WRC car in Belgium, which either had a specially modified for him gear shifter on the left by the steering wheel or had paddle shift like in f1. His co-driver from before Jakub Gerber, has been questioned by media, but says he can not comment until monday:

[translate.google.com]

[translate.google.com]

Well today i am reading the great new that Kubica is coming back for his first race, as early as this weekend!:

[translate.google.com]

[translate.google.com]

[translate.google.com]

[translate.googleusercontent.com]

Here is a facebook page for the coming rallies:

[www.facebook.com]

[www.facebook.com]



Eurosport first of the big news agencies:
[www.eurosport.fr]

How about that guys? nearly died in a rally car, now back in rally. brave guy i hope its a step towards the f1 return, rally isnt that much easier on the body, all those bumps and quick reflexes. AND he has never before started a rally in a WRC class car!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2012 12:38PM by kubica2.

he still does not want the media attention but.
here is the start list for the rally this weekend. notice car number 3. Drivers name is Andrea Crugnola.

Crugnola has nothing to do with First Motorsport, and does not drive the Subaru WRC. Kubica has previously tested in Rally also where the car was listed as Crugnola. Crugnola has never raced with the listed co-driver, while Kubica has.
[docs.google.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2012 12:41PM by kubica2.

here is kubicas subaru today!:
[www.f1talks.pl]

and here he is today:
[3.bp.blogspot.com]

[3.bp.blogspot.com]

[3.bp.blogspot.com]

[4.bp.blogspot.com]

[twitter.com]

entry list with him name now:
[www.ewrc-results.com]

He aims to return to F1 in 2014:

[twitter.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2012 11:23AM by kubica2.

i am a lonely commentator for this thread, but i am sure some look.

this following video shows the real state of Robert Kubica, and the real damage, after 19 months away.
Today he aknowledged that his right hand will never be 100%, but is still progressing. Kubica stressed that these rally entries are just another part in the rehabilitation process.





In the video you can see how he holds a mobile phone in his right hand, with straight fingers, and his elbow still in a bad state (Another surgery is scheduled). he also has a limp when walking. but kubica said today that this rally and next weekends rally are about him getting his body and mind back into racing mode, and that this and future events will hopefully accelerate his ongoing rehabilitation. he is happy that his rehabilitation has reached a point where he can do do these rally entries, and still sees racing as his future, but says rehabilitation is ongoing. he doesnt know when return to f1, but that is still the aim.
I think it is a greast story of courage, his body was mangled so bad, and now he returns to the scene of his nightmare (rally), and is racing a higher class rally car then he did before his accident.

for polish fans here is a polish interview today:
[www.tvn24.pl]

His elbow is said to be the worst part at the moment. his recent operation on it involving replacing bone with prosthetics was said to not have gone as well as hoped, and more surgery is planned. at the moment he can not rotate his right arm properly. but still progress is being made!

Today was the BIGGEST news day about Robert Kubica's comeback to racing since the accident in February 2011. 19 months of hospitals and rehab, 579 days! and now he has made the next step in his rehab of actually driving racing cars. It was the first time we heard his voice since 19 months!

He still has a long way to go, and may never reach the ultimate goal of an f1 return, but it is fantastic he has got this far after that tragic accident. lets not forget he nearly died, losing most of his blood and required several transfusions, nearly requiring amputation of his right hand/arm, but got a good surgeon to do microsurgery and re-attach his arm (split half way down his hand up through the wrist), had his upper arm from elbow totally crushed, many other broken bones including much of his right leg.

here is 2 videos of him driving today (pre rally testing for tomorrow):







many photos here:
[kubica.gallery.ru]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2012 10:56AM by kubica2.

This is really quite encouraging, his elbow is obviously not right but it could be worse.

I watched a documentary on BBC iPlayer this afternoon called Madness on Wheels: Rallying's Craziest Years. It was a very good documentary about the dangers of group B rally, but the first few minutes were obviously designed to shock people into watching it. It really opened my eyes, and makes me respect rally drivers all the more...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You know you want to. [judgegrudge.mybrute.com]




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2012 07:59PM by flat tyre.

I saw that documentary too. It was really good.

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It's only after we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

kubica2 Wrote:
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> i am a lonely commentator for this thread, but i
> am sure some look.

Please keep it up! You seem to be the best source of Kubica information that I've found so far

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After 3 stages, Kubica is winning today!!

in action today!!




photos and videos here from yesterday

[powrotroberta.blogspot.com.au]

look how limp his left hand still is, and the scars on the arm, and not being able to straighten the elbow.

My father in poland 30 years had a work place accident, with very similar results to his hand. he says the way kubica is holding his mobile phone, is similar to his hand during rehab. he regained most movement, but took a long time.

Kubica said, that not for the accident, he would have been teammate to Alonso at Ferrari.

Interview about this:


&feature=player_embedded
a rough google translation. (first italian to polish - then google polish to english):

Antonio Boselli: Robert how you feel after the first episode?

Robert Kubica: All right. We tested the car in the segment, in which we will go tomorrow. A bit of understeer, rust let go because so many months have not ridden. Ok I tried to drive different cars in the meantime, but now I'm excited to see a lot of people, fans. It's beautiful. I hope that peaceful night sleep and a good day tomorrow will be and it will be a new beginning for me.

Antonio Boselli: But here the movement is done! At least if your current ring road went through ...

Robert Kubica: That's because it is close to Monza. There already finished and came tutaj.Też I used to do so.

Antonio Boselli: Valentino Rossi said: I'm glad to see a smiling Robert Kubica, who sail in the car rally.

Robert Kubica: It gives me great joy because it is a great athlete. Thank him very much. A little this season to suffer. Probably not as I do, because I some for other reasons. But I can say that for me and for him last year and a half has not been easy. I wish him all the best and thank you that wrote me such a nice word.


Antonio Boselli: I have to ask you about Ferrari. It has been said a lot about you in the context of Ferrari, the contracts already concluded. And what can you say?

Robert Kubica: (pause) day I'm sitting in a Subaru WRC. Period. Enough
Antonio Boselli: But citing the opinion of many fans said that the duo Alonso-Kubica would be the perfect duo.

Robert Kubica: I think so too. But unfortunately, life is a little different and have followed in some other direction. It's hard. So like I said I'm happy that I'm here. I hope that is the beginning of a better time than that experienced in recent months.

Antonio Boselli: Last question: do you think that Alonso will win the championship this year?

Robert Kubica: YeS yeS Thank you. Hi all.



Looking at the photos of his arm, i can see why he hasnt spoken to the media, it was much worse then his manager was saying last year. he has had 20 months of intense rehab, with much more to come, and it is now at a stage he says, where drive a racing car will help his rehab. he has had about 3-4 interview this weekend by polish and italian journalist, and he sayd the aim is still f1, but it may not pan out that way. he says next year will be an important year in his rehab, racing rally
cars first as it is less physically demaning also seems like he maybe lining up a season in wrc next year, hence the recent testing of wrc cars, and this race in a wrc class car. also next weekend another rally in the same car.

there are 6 other wrc cars in the field, (with more able bodied drivers if you want) including a better spec subaru then his, but Kubica is wooping them.

here is some results:
after stage 1:
[2.bp.blogspot.com]
after stage 2:
[3.bp.blogspot.com]
after stage 3:
[www.cronometristi.net]


it is a small rally, each stage is the same tarmac road, but he is getting faster and faster, and is going get the best rally result of his life!

I think he chose this weekend because to stay away from media, as most of the media is focusing on the Gp in Italy.