Tag: robert

Report: Robert Kubica not expected to return to F1 before season’s end

Filed under: Motorsports, Lotus, Renault

Robert Kubica

If you’ve been counting down the days until Robert Kubica returns to the Formula One grid, you may want to stop counting for now. The latest reports suggest that the Polish driver is not likely to return before the end of the season, if at all.

Kubica, for those who may not recall, suffered a terrible accident during the off-season while contesting a rally in Italy some four months ago. His car was impaled by a dislodged guardrail and Kubica sustained extensive injuries to his right-side limbs. Now released from hospital and recovering at home, Kubica’s boss – Lotus Renault GP chief Gerard Lopez – reportedly says it is not likely the star driver will be back by season’s end.

Renault may give Kubica the opportunity to test drive during a Friday test session on a grand prix weekend at some point, but that should not, Lopez warns, indicate that he’d be ready to relieve Nick Heidfeld and take on a full race. Whether Kubica ever gets back into racing form remains to be seen – his doctors are reserving judgment until the summer – but we wish him the best for a suitably speedy recovery.

Robert Kubica not expected to return to F1 before season’s end originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 May 2011 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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F1 teams wish Robert Kubica a speedy recovery at Jerez test

Filed under: Motorsports, Safety

Speedy Recovery, Robert

Speedy Recovery, Robert – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Formula One circus is in Jerez this weekend, testing the latest batch of racecars before the season kicks off next month in Bahrain. But something’s missing. Someone actually, and that someone is Robert Kubica.

The Polish driver on the Lotus Renault GP team, as you may have heard, is recovering in the hospital from injuries substained in a rallying accident in Italy that had his car impaled by a roadside guardrail. At the Jerez test his team will be giving a number of drivers – including their own tester Bruno Senna and F1 veteran Nick Heidfeld – a shot at temporarily filling Kubica’s seat, but they’re not the only ones feeling his absence.

The majority of the teams on the grid have placed special messages of hope for Kubica’s recovery somewhere on their cars. Some have placed them on the front wings, some on the sidepods or front keel, while others have placed them on the side of the rear wing. But the message is the same: “Szybkiego powrotu do zdrowia Robert”, in his native Polish – speedy recovery, Robert. We’ve assembled a few close-ups of the messages on the Jerez test cars and placed them for your viewing pleasure in the gallery below, so click on to check ’em out. Thanks for the tip, Arek!

Gallery: Speedy Recovery, Robert – Jerez F1 test

[Source: F1Fanatic]

F1 teams wish Robert Kubica a speedy recovery at Jerez test originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Robert Kubica medevac’d from crash at Ronde di Andora Rally [Updated]

Filed under: Motorsports, Lotus, Renault, Skoda

Robert Kubica

Formula One teams take a huge risk when they let one of their star drivers contest other forms of motorsport during the offseason. Never mind questions of focus: crashes happen all the time in every motorsport discipline, and one false step can have disastrous consequences for both driver and team.

Renault, however, has long permitted Robert Kubica to have his run at rallying on the side. Not unlike Kimi Raikkonen, Kubica has been proving himself a competent rally driver, but his skills didn’t prevent him from suffering a high-speed crash today at the Ronde di Andora rally. This was the first time Kubica – fresh from topping the time sheets in the third F1 test session at Valencia – was driving a top-spec Super 2000 rally car, in this case a Skoda Fabia, which he crashed during the opening stage.

The Polish driver was airlifted to a local hospital, and though sources confirm that he remained conscious throughout, reports of multiple broken bones are circulating. This close to the opening of the 2011 F1 campaign, observers can’t help but wonder what will happen if Kubica isn’t well enough to start the season. Fortunately for the team, they’ve lined up a full roster of reserve drivers, including Bruno Senna, who is tipped as the top among them.

Of course we wish Kubica – who bounced back well from his spectacular crash at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix – a full and (characteristically) speedy recovery, and hope to see him back at the wheel in full health in short order. Follow the jump for the brief statement from Renault, and watch this space for more.

UPDATE: Lotus Renault GP reports that Kubica is undergoing surgery for multiple fractures to his right hand, arm and leg. Updated statement posted after the jump.

[Sources: Renault, Autosport]

Continue reading Robert Kubica medevac’d from crash at Ronde di Andora Rally [Updated]

Robert Kubica medevac’d from crash at Ronde di Andora Rally [Updated] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Rubber is the story of a homicidal tire named Robert

Filed under: Etc., Humor

Rubber movie

Quentin Dupieux’s Rubber – Click above to watch video after the jump

Rubber movieWe’ll let you all in on a little secret: when we aren’t furiously rowing away out our keyboards, snapping photos of our review vehicles or splitting knuckles on the world’s worst project vehicles, we’re stuck in front of Netflix sucking up a deluge of horrible B movies. We just can’t help ourselves. Bad acting and worse editing dipped in the sugary coating of a strange premise is the perfect concoction for shutting off your brain for awhile, which is exactly why we first got excited when we heard about director Quntin Dupieux’s new film, Rubber.

The movie centers on an old tire by the name of Robert that somehow comes to life, acquires telepathic powers and sets out on a murderous rampage. If that doesn’t sound like B-movie gold, we don’t know what does. But after watching the trailer for the flick, we can’t help but think this is a legitimate film that just happens to be slumming it alongside flicks like Death Bed – The Bed that Eats.

Even setting our questionable cinematic tastes aside, we can’t help but want to see this movie when it hits theaters on April 1. Hit the jump to check the video for yourself.

[Sources: YouTube, Bloody Disgusting]

Continue reading Video: Rubber is the story of a homicidal tire named Robert

Video: Rubber is the story of a homicidal tire named Robert originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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