Kubica hopeful of Saturday restart

Robert Kubica remains hopeful that he can restart Wales Rally GB on Saturday after his crash during Friday’s competition.

The Pole, making his World Rally Car debut, rolled his factory spec Citroen DS3 off the road 27km into Friday’s opening stage, Hafren.

Wales is Kubica’s first rally alongside new co-driver Michel Ferrara, but Kubica said the mistake was his alone.

“I misjudged the grip on the braking,” he told wrc.com. “I think I made a mistake not noticing the mud on the surface, and when I braked I just locked the front wheels. I tried to recover it with the handbrake but we ran out of road. It was quite steep and we ended upside down.

“It’s a shame because I was not really pushing, the surface change just caught me out. On the corner before there had been good grip but here, apparently, there was more mud under braking.”

Kubica’s car remained by the stage for most of the day, because its position made it too dangerous to recover while the WRC and national rallies were using the road.

Citroen will assess the condition of the car when it is brought back to the team’s service area in Deeside before deciding whether or not Kubica can restart as a Rally 2 entry.

“There is no big damage I think, even though the car is three metres down. It was a soft half-roll and didn’t feel like a big crash,” said Kubica. “Hopefully I can return. It’s a shame because one small misjudgment and we ended up like this.”