» Kubica does a rally test

Just over 18 months on from his life-threatening accident at the Ronde di Andora rally, Robert Kubica has returned to the cockpit of a rally machine in what is undoubtedly the biggest step he has made on his long road to recovery.

According to reports, the Pole was “a mystery driver, who did not wish to have any publicity” in his test outing behind the wheel of a works Ford Fiesta WRC challenger. The test outing took place at the little-known Circuit des Ecuyers, which is located close to the town of Château-Thierry in France.

Kubica drove in conjunction with the team’s regular drivers, Petter Solberg et Jari-Matti Latvala, and – according to sources close to the team – provided interesting feedback following his outing behind the wheel.

It is understood that Kubica footed the entire bill for his outing with the team, including flights and accommodation from his current home in Italy. He also hired an identical-spec Ford Fiesta RS WRC from an Italian team in which to prepare for the test beforehand.

Ford WRC team boss Malcolm Wilson refused to confirm any details of the test session, and certainly wouldn’t confirm if Kubica was even present.

“As you know, we had a four-day development test at a circuit in France, that’s all there is to it. It was a private test and I’m not prepared to comment further,” he told AUTOSPORT.

Sounds like an admission, if ever we read one…