You wake up in the morning looking greener than Shrek just to learn about Kubica’s horrific accident in the Ronde di Andora rally. It’s a tough one to swallow…
I was looking forward to taking some photos of Robert testing with the new Lotus Renault GP R31 in Jerez next week but now I’m facing the prospect of having no RK images in my 2011 archive. However, this is not the most important thing right now, as we all wish Robert a speedy (sic!) recovery and let’s hope he stays away from rallying for a while, just like Mark Webber decided to stay away from bikes.
I think we are going to be robbed of a great driver in the first half of the season who is always very spectacular to watch in action (one year away from Formula 1 racing is the worst case scenario, according to reports).
Get back, Robert! Get back to where you once belonged…
iberianmph.com 
This is a real shame for Kubica and Renault. Hopefully he will make a full recovery, but unfortunately it won’t be in time to compete for the championship in the R31, which actually looks like it’s a very quick car.
It was reported not so long ago that Renault forced him to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Rally, unhappy about him taking on the event in a rival manufacturer’s car. If this was the case, it seems strange that they would then allow him to compete in the Ronde di Andora. One possibility is that Renault didn’t want him entering a high profile rally with a rival’s car. But given the concerns that have been raised about the crash barrier that Kubica made contact with, then focusing on the IRC would have been better as safety standards should be higher.
I noticed yesterday that people were either blaming Kubica for wanting to take part in rallying alongside Formula One, or Renault for allowing him to do so. However, I think it would have been better if a compromise had been reached, allowing Kubica to take part in IRC events only, but in one of Melor Elliot Motorsports’ Satrias to reduce commercial conflicts.
Yeah, what’s done is done I guess, whether it’s RK to blame, LRGP (supposedly they did prevent him from competing in Monte-Carlo for some reasons), the car he was driving, that section of the road where he crashed or the tricky conditions. The best thing to do is let the doctors perform their magic and wait. He can always test when he’s fully fit with the R29 which is what Ferrari did with Massa when he tested a 2-year old car first.
I think RK’s co-driver has voiced his concerns over the safety of the cars and also called for better organization of these events – I totally agree. The FIA must come up with something to protect the cockpit area; having said that, Latvala walked out from a terrible crash in Portugal a couple of years ago, I seem to recall his Ford looked like a lump of metal. With Kubica it was a freak occurrence in many ways: a bit like God stopping the bullets from killing Jules and Vincent or Vincent accidentally blowing Marvin’s head off, which kinda shows there are positive and negative freak occurrences.
Kub’s great motivator and he’s immensely popular within the team; the piccie I used here dates back to December 2009 when he visited Renault for the first time in Jerez. Funnily enough, he started chatting with Alan Permane about his passion for rallying and how he loves getting behind the wheel of a rally car…
Some people have questioned how well the guardrail – which penetrated the Fabia’s footwell – was secured. This will presumably be something that will be looked at by the investigators.
Of course you’re right, though, in that this may have simply been a freak accident. Whenever I watch rally cars travelling close to the edge of a ravine, with little margin for error, I’m amazed that the sport’s safety record – at IRC/WRC-level, at least – is as good as it is.
Patience is now key for Robert, as with the type of extensive injuries he’s suffered it’s difficult to predict the path that recovery will take. If he is able to drive at all this season, then I’m sure he will be welcomed back with open arms by Renault, partly out of loyalty and partly because they will struggle to find an adequate short-term replacement.
Yep, may we have our Kub back!
I remember Irvine said he couldn’t understand where Schumi had found extra speed after his 1999 Silverstone crash and suggested that maybe he himself should also try and break his leg just to experiment with things. Irv was good at that – dark humour, not breaking legs.