Kubica Kubica return may be out si de off Fl R obert Kubica continues to move closer to a racing comeback, but he faces a battle to make sure that he can return to the cockpit of a Formula i car. The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner, who suffered serious injuries to the right-hand side of his body in a rally crash in early 2011, has made enough progress in recent months to allow him to get back behind the wheel. Two months ago he drove rally cars from Skoda and Renault, and sources close to him have revealed that the injuries to his right leg — on which he re-opened a fracture with a fall in January — have healed particularly well. Recent rally tests went better than expected. Kubica had driven some of the roads before in the Clio S2000, and after quickly matching the times he had set in the past, he was able to better them. As far as he was concerned, a point had been proven. However, AUTOSPORT understands that the reason he chose to drive a rally car rather than a single-seater or Formula 1 simulator is because he is still fighting to regain full mobility in Ms right arm, which remains the final obstacle in his impressive recovery. The rally cars, which were left-hand drive, enabled the 27-year-old more freedom to move his arm than a cramped single-seater cockpit would. The driving position required in an Fi car leaves the elbow almost stuck between a driver's hip and the side of the chassis. This means that most of his movement has to come from the wrist and the forearm — the two areas in which Kubica is having to work hardest during his recovery. His recent rally tests prompted a lot of speculation about his recovery. But even inaccurate reports about his condition will not prompt Kubica to break his decision to avoid speaking publicly about his progress. He surprised many people by not attending last month's Monaco Grand Prix, despite living in the Principality. His absence was partly down to the fact that he has no interest in attending a grand prix when he is not able to compete, but also because he has vowed not to speak about his return until a comeback is definitely on the cards. "What's the point of me talking to the press knowing that I wouldn't be able to reply to the first question they asked?" said Kubica. "They would say to me, 'So Robert, when are you coming back?'And I wouldn't know what to tell them." His desire to avoid putting a timeframe on his recovery is also one of the key reasons that he has shied away from talk of driving an Fi simulator, and why he refuses to be drawn on when he hopes to come back. In the first weeks and months after his accident there was often talk of when he was likely to return, but he was uncomfortable with that because he does not want to rush his recovery, or try to start racing again before he is back to his best. People close to the Pole report that his morale is still high and his passion for motorsport is strong enough that he will return to racing even if he is never able to compete in Fi again. Some of his closest friends in the paddock are also surprised at the constant level of interest in his condition in the Fi paddock, especially given that drivers are normally quickly forgotten once they are no longer a feature on race weekends. Kubica has yet to be told by a doctor that he will definitely be able to return to the pinnacle of the sport, but nor has he been told at any point that it is impossible.

Роберт Кубица07.06.2012