Robert Kubica has been announced as the lead driver for LMP1 team ByKolles for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. The former F1 driver joins the Austrian-entered squad on a full-season basis after successfully testing the car at the official test in Bahrain last November.
The Pole raced in Formula 1 until 2011, when a serious crash during a rally in Italy in the off-season resulted in severe hand and arm injuries, effectively ending the 32-year-old’s F1 career. “After my time in rally I’ve been looking for something as close to Formula One as possible. This is exactly what I’ve found in LMP1,” he said after his unveiling. “At the end of last year’s WEC-Season, I was able to do my first laps behind the wheel of the CLM P1/01. I felt comfortable in the car very quickly and was able to increase my pace accordingly. With even more experience I’m sure I will be able to extract more performance.”
Kubica will partner up with Brit Oliver Webb for the nine-race 2017 season, alongside an as-yet unnamed driver, and is particularly looking forward to making his Le Mans debut in June: “The WEC is racing on circuits that I know well from my time in Formula One. The exception is Le Mans. I’ve heard so many good things about the event at La Sarthe. I’m very excited about my first start at this 24-hour race.”
via: ByKolles.com
Image (c) WEC-Magazin