Citroen Racing Technologies’ boss Benoit Nogier says Robert Kubica’s ultimate pace in a rally car won’t be clear until he contests more events.
While Nogier has tipped Kubica to win Rallye du Var, which starts in the south of France today (Thursday), after the ex-Formula One racer excelled on selected national rallies as he continues to recover from the serious injuries sustained when he crashed on a rally in Italy last year, he says the Pole is still lacking experience.
“He is learning step-by-step and if he continues to do more rallies then his experience will improve and so will he,” Nogier told WRC.com. “It’s very difficult when a driver starts to know what step they will be able to reach but from what we know so far we cannot see any reason why he cannot improve and take more steps. But he needs more time in the car to do this.”
Nogier played a key role in overseeing Kimi Raikkonen’s switch from Formula One to the WRC in 2010. He said Kubica’s transition to the series would be more seamless than the Finn’s if he decided to make the move.
“Kimi started in the WRC after quite a short time, just three rallies or something,” said Nogier. “Robert knows a bit more because he has done more rallies and knows more what is needed.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport following his victory on Rally di Como in Italy last weekend, Kubica said: “I won well but I keep my feet on the ground. I need to test myself on the most demanding events.”
Kubica is contesting Rallye du Var in a Citroen C4 WRC.