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Kubica to Test KERS in China Practice

As reported by Autoevolution earlier this week, BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica will test the new Kinetic Energy Recovery System during Friday's practice sessions of the Chinese Grand Prix. The Polish driver is yet to debut a KERS-powered F1.09 this season, as only teammate Nick Heidfeld benefitted from the technology in Australia and Malaysia.

Seeing that it clearly provides some sort of advantage on track – as shown in the first two races of the new season – BMW have decided to fit the unit into Kubica's car as well. However, the team is yet to decide whether the Pole will use KERS in the Shanghai race on Sunday, depending on the results on Friday.

The main issue with Kubica's using KERS is that the unit affects his car's balance. While being a heavier driver than teammate Heidfeld – and taller – the mechanics will not be left with that many choices to distribute ballast around the car after implementing the KERS unit. After Friday, the team hopes to have more data to work with.

“We will have to test and see. For sure we have seen this from our view, especially in Malaysia but also in Australia, it was an advantage. Of course running on my car there are some disadvantages that are bigger than for the other (drivers), but I hope still the advantage will be bigger than the disadvantage, but we will see. The balance of the car is the issue. We will see - a lot will depend on that and the grip level,” said Kubica on Thursday.

All teams that benefit from the KERS technology are expected to use the unit at Shanghai. While technical in some parts, the Chinese track has some pretty long straights where the system, if deployed, could become crucial.
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