Kubica to star in Renault Sport Trophy cameo

©Renault Sport Series

Robert Kubica will return to racing action next weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, with the former grand prix winner set to take part in round five of this year’s Renault Sport Trophy (RST).

The Pole had the opportunity to sample the R.S.01 car entered in the one-make series during a test run at the Ales circuit in the south of France.

“I quickly felt at ease at the wheel of the R.S. 01, and even on a twisty track like Ales its qualities were immediately evident, especially the stopping power granted by the carbon discs,” Kubica said.

“I was impressed by how late into the corner you can brake and by the absence of body roll, even when you push to make the most of the available grip.

“I look forward to driving it at Spa, where all the downforce the car can generate will also come into play.”

Kubica’s star cameo in the RST will be the latest chapter in the history between Renault and the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner.

Having starred in Formula Renault 2000 as a teenager, he joined the Renault Driver Development programme and went on the become the first ever Formula Renault 3.5 Series winner in 2005.

Having made his F1 debut and established himself as a hot commodity with BMW, Kubica returned to Renault in 2010 after the German manufacturer pulled the plug on its grand prix programme.

The Pole was one of the star performers that year and destined to greater things in the top flight until his single-seaters journey was cut short when he suffered a serious crash on an Italian rally event in early 2011.

Kubica nearly lost his arm but he overcame the trauma to embrace a career in rallying, winning the WRC-2 Championship in 2013. The former grand prix star showed promising speed upon his graduation to the premier WRC category though it never materialised into strong results.

The 31-year-old’s latest competitive outing was at the 12 Hours of Mugello where he raced a Mercedes. By racing in the Renault Sport Trophy, Kubica will join Renault Sport Formula One Team's Carmen Jorda who has been competing in the series this year.

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Julien Billiotte