Kubica turned down world rally offer

Robert Kubica has revealed that he turned down an offer to make a guest appearance in a forthcoming round of the world rally championship.

The Pole, who turned to rallying full-time amid his recovery from a near-fatal crash some decade ago, told Eleven Sports he could not do the rally this year because of his reserve driver duties for Alfa Romeo.

"I was tempted by one person and they even wanted to meet, but I had to tell them that there is no point even in talking about it," Kubica, who finished 15th overall this year in his first season in DTM, said.

"If not for the fact that Bahrain is on the same weekend as the Monza rally, I would have been tempted to go there.

"It is a very interesting combination of rallying with a race track," said the 35-year-old, who actually won the Monza event back in 2014.

Kubica also ruled out switching full time to world rallying for 2021.

"I have too much respect for the discipline to do that," he said.

"You have to do everything the right way, and I know how much pain and energy it takes. Very few people understand how difficult it is, which is why I don’t think I would be tempted to do the whole season in rallies."

However, Przeglad Sportowy is citing sources who believe that while sponsor Orlen is expected to stay in Formula 1 next year, the oil company may also fund a return to world rallying for Kubica.

"The talks are well advanced," the correspondent revealed.

"There have already been meetings with Hyundai and we hear that both sides are close to an agreement."

Kubica, meanwhile, is quoted as saying: "The coming weeks will be very important to me in the context of my future and what I would like to do next.

"I have my preferences and priorities, but we’ll see what is possible. When I find out, I will make a decision."