WRC: Kubica accepts team move is hard work

Robert Kubica says he is ready for the hard work coming his way having set up his own team for the 2015 World Rally Championship season.

This week's Monte Carlo Rally will be the first event where his Ford Fiesta RS WRC is fielded by his eponymous RK World Rally Team, as the ex-Formula 1 driver chases an upturn in results after a "frustrating" 2014 season.

The RK team has recruited technicians and is expected to move into premises close to Italian team A-Style, which ran Kubica for his victories in events at Monza and in Bologna at the end of last season, in March.

"We have a close collaboration with A-Style, and our facility and workshop will be close to them." said Kubica. "Unfortunately, there hasn't been a lot of time – the decision to do this project came very late. But already I've collected some people who I knew from the past and straight away I want to thank a lot of people who put a lot of effort in for the last two weeks to prepare everything.

"This season will be different for sure. There is going to be work – everything needs to be done and everything [in the team] needs to engage proper gear and to work on its own.

"The goal for this season is to concentrate on the driving, but we need to work really hard, especially at the start of the season when it's very tight for the team to go from Monte Carlo to Sweden and Mexico."

Pirelli confirmed last weekend that Kubica would switch from Michelin to use its tires in 2015.

"Last year they showed impressive performances and in some conditions the tire might work better," said Kubica of his Pirelli move. "OK, in some other conditions it might not. But Pirelli has good experience and the support we received was very good. To have that support this year is, for me, very good.

"Pirelli is a solid partner and one we look forward to working with through this year."

Originally on Autosport.com