Kubica to make full-time return to road racing

Poland's Robert Kubica has signed to drive for the ByKolles FIA World Endurance Championship LMP1 team in 2017, marking his first full-time road racing opportunity since partially severing his right arm in a 2011 rally accident.

The former Formula 1 star, who won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix while driving for the BMW Sauber team, has remained active in the sport since recovering from the crash, concentrating mostly on rallying and endurance racing in GT cars. The step up to LMP1 with teammate Oliver Webb in a twin-turbo Nissan-powered CLM P1/01 prototype represents a major milestone for Kubica.

"After my time in Rally I've been looking for something as close to Formula 1 as possible," he said. "This is exactly what I've found in LMP1. At the end of last year's WEC season, I was able to do my first laps behind the wheel of the CLM P1/01. I felt comfortable in the car very quickly and was able to increase my pace accordingly. With even more experience I'm sure I will be able to extract more performance. I'm already very much looking forward to the Prologue in Monza and the season start in Silverstone."

The LMP1 privateer class where Kubica and Webb will compete is admittedly thin; byKolles is the only full-season entrant, but it will still give the inspiring 32-year-old a chance to take another step in his comeback.

"The professional team of ByKolles Racing will continue to make important improvements to the car during the season," Kubica added. "I'm happy to be a part of it. The WEC is racing on circuits that I know well from my time in Formula 1. The exception is Le Mans. I've heard so many good things about the event at the Sarthe. I'm very excited about my first start at this 24-hour race."