Matton: ’Acropolis a turning point for Kubica’

Robert Kubica’s victory in the WRC 2 category of the Acropolis Rally has been hailed by the boss of Citroen Racing as a turning point in the Pole’s development as a rally driver.

The Acropolis was the Formula 1 star’s second appearance in the WRC, and came just seven weeks after his first taste of competition on gravel at Rallye de Portugal.

Kubica took the WRC 2 lead In Greece on the first stage in his Citroen DS3 RRC, and by stage nine was more than two minutes clear of the chasing pack

He later switched to a more cautious approach, controlling his pace on the rocky gravel stages to clinch the win on Sunday by 1min 29.8sec from Ford Fiesta RRC driver Yuriy Protasov.

“Robert had already shown, on gravel and on tarmac, that he has genuine pace, but he still needed to learn about discipline”, refected Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal.

“He had a great race, including the final leg when he managed his lead. I have the feeling that this may something of a turning point for him. It certainly augurs well in terms of our shared objective, which is to win the WRC 2 title.”

Kubica said: “There are many things for me to learn still, but it has been a great learning experience and a very productive weekend.”

“Even when driving slowly, it is still easy to make a mistake when you’re tackling stages for the first time, especially in tough conditions. I’m now looking forward to Rally Sardegna, where I can put what I have learned this weekend to good use.”

The Pole now lies sixth overall in the WRC 2 championship standings, with 33 points from his two rallies.