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Autosport
Autosport
Sport
James Newbold

Kubica targets WEC Hypercar seat in 2024 after LMP2 class axed

The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner leads the LMP2 standings heading into this weekend's Monza six-hour race after finishing runner-up in class at the Le Mans 24 Hours last time out with team-mates Louis Deletraz and Rui Andrade.

Kubica has raced in LMP2 with Deletraz since his full-time switch to sportscars in 2021, winning that year's European Le Mans Series crown with WRT and only missing out on victory at Le Mans to a freak electrical failure on the final lap, before the pair switched to Prema for the 2022 WEC and took second at Le Mans.

But with the secondary prototype category being dropped from the WEC next season, and WRT moving up to the top class to run BMW's factory LMDh programme, Kubica has actively sought out a Hypercar berth as he believes "it will be a natural step for me to give continuity" to his sportscar career.

The ex-BMW-Sauber, Renault and Williams Formula 1 driver told Autosport at Monza: "[LMP2] will be still in Le Mans, but of course, I would like to compete on the highest level in WEC.

Opinion: The inevitable Le Mans change that will still be lamented

"I would like to compete with the possibility of doing a serious programme and having an opportunity.

"I know there are many good drivers around, but I still think I can offer a good service and a lot of experience, especially with the new projects with relatively new cars.

"I think someone who drove many different cars and I have to say I learned a lot in F1, it can be valuable.

#41 Team WRT Oreca 07 - Gibson: Rui Andrade, Robert Kubica, Louis Delétraz (Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images)

"I do have some talks but I have nothing decided yet."

Kubica was previously due to race for Bykolles in the WEC's LMP1 class in 2017, but withdrew before the first round after a problematic pre-season test at Monza in which he didn't get to drive.

He stressed that he's seeking an opportunity "in the best environment possible", but also wants to have an input beyond the cockpit too.

"I have been always interested, even when I was young, in not only driving but trying to understand the sport from not only the driver’s perspective," he said.

"Of course ultimately I would like to only drive, but I think understanding all around is helping the driver to understand things and to integrate better to the team and to help the team.

"If the team is relying fully on simulations, which is very famous lately, trying to find the peak performance and forgetting about driver input, then probably I’m not the right person to help.

"But in the end, we will see."

#41 Team WRT Oreca 07 - Gibson: Robert Kubica (Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images)

Kubica added that despite lacking a victory, his Le Mans record suggests he has the right approach for endurance racing.

"Especially the Le Mans race needs a different approach and I think this shows something which is kind of invisible, that the approach is the correct one," he said.

"It’s not only about yourself but about creating the team, your team-mates.

"Next year I will be 39 – I still am passionate, I want to do well, but I’m not desperate to do well. I don’t need to overdo it.

"I know that I am very demanding of myself, and I think I can see globally a bigger picture as a driver than I could 15 years ago because I have more experience. I think this helps, especially the Le Mans approach.

"In the end, we did three years in a row with no scratches on the car, and three two times out of three, the team we raced was a rookie team."  

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