Robert Kubica Confirms Presence in Rally Monte Carlo

Renault's Robert Kubica will compete for the second consecutive time in the opening round of the International Rally Challenger, namely the Monte Carlo event, scheduled in January, 2011. Actually, this will hopefully be the first time he'll actually get to complete a stage, as his experience in Rally Monte Carlo this year has been affected early on by an engine issue.

In January 2010, before he got to jump inside a Renault-prepared F1 single-seater, Kubica's first real commitment with the French manufacturer happened in Rally Monte Carlo, where he was given a Renault Clio to drive in the first IRC round of the season. An engine issue in the prologue of the event prevented him from tackling the rest of the rally.

In 2011, Kubica will return to Monte Carlo in either a Renault Clio S1600 or a Clio R3, his entry being still subject to change.

The Polish driver will join quite an impressive pack of drivers in the aforementioned event, including some of the big stars in the World Rally Championship. Petter Solberg confirmed his presence in the event that he never got to win back when it was a regular round in the WRC last week, while the co-driver of reigning WRC champion Sebastien Loeb, Daniel Elena, will switch to the driver's seat in a Citroen C2.

Additionally, rally drivers Guy Wilks, Bruno Magalhaes, Bryan Bouffier, Thierry Neuville, Stephane Sarrazin, Nicolas Vouilloz, Freddy Loix, Juho Hanninen, Jan Kopecky, Andreas Mikkelsen.Toni Gardemeister, Per-Gunnar Andersson and Chris Atkinson have also confirmed their presence in the season opening event.