Robert Kubica completed the first full day of competition at Rally Argentina in a strong fifth place. Maintaining a composed drive throughout all four speed tests, the Pole’s new approach was paying dividends.
When it comes to tricky and demanding events, there is no fiercer example than Rally Argentina. Encompassing two loops of two exceptionally difficult stages through the Sierras Chicas mountains, today’s 157.94 kilometres were a challenge in themselves.
Long and technical in nature, the opening stages demanded near-perfect precision. Crews needed to be confident not only in their driving styles and set-ups, but also in their own physical strength – particularly with two passes through the 55.88 kilometres of ‘Asochinga / Auga de Oro’ (SS3 and SS5).
The physical aspects failed to faze the RK M-Sport World Rally Team driver; the real challenge being the mere nature of the roads. Far removed from the smooth, open asphalt which has dominated so much of his professional career, Robert found himself tackling some of the FIA World Rally Championship’s (WRC) roughest and most abrasive terrain.
Taking to the challenge with one goal in mind, he and co-driver Maciek Szczepaniak were resolute on making it through all of the stages without incident. Mission accomplished, the Poles did just that – piloting their Ford Fiesta RS WRC to a strong fifth place just 0.2 seconds adrift of fourth.
Upping their pace significantly for the second pass, the pairing made the most of their first encounter with the South American event and will be looking to make further progress as the rally continues.
Robert Kubica (5th) said:
“If you consider how difficult these stages are and how little experience I have here, I think it has been a very good day. The first stage [SS2 and SS4] in particular is very narrow and twisty and I know how difficult it is for me to drive with my limitations.
“It’s really frustrating not being able to turn into the hairpins as cleanly as I would like, but there are some things that I cannot overcome and I know that on the tight corners I have to compromise to lose as little time as possible.
“The priority is to finish and in that respect today has been a good day with some good driving. Of course there are two very difficult days remaining, so we need to ensure that we continue like this.
Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“I’m really pleased to see a trouble free day from Robert [Kubica]. He’s adopted a cautious approach whilst showing some good pace and it has paid dividends for him today. If he continues the performance, he will be on course for a very strong result and a good platform to build on for the rest of the season.”