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  Feb. 6, 2011 11:21 a.m. oldsaw SuperDork

  Robert Kubica, lead driver for Renault's F1 team has hand, arm and leg injuries after crashing his rally car into a guardrail.

  http://en.espnf1.com/renault/motorsport/story/40082.html

  The accompanying video clip shows the car had a heavy front impact with relatively little damage inside the cage; he had to be cut out of the car. More proof that accident dynamics are unpredictable.

  Good luck, Robert!

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  Feb. 6, 2011 1:07 p.m. Vigo Dork

  You can easily smack your hand, arm, or leg into something hard enough to shatter them with enough deceleration. Cage only keeps things from intruding.. doesnt keep your body parts from smashing into harder objects inside the car at high speed.

  Hope he makes a full recovery

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  Feb. 6, 2011 1:31 p.m. loosecannon New Reader

  Methinks he will not be in an F1 anytime soon

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  Feb. 6, 2011 1:45 p.m. pigeon Dork

  Methinks no other F1 driver is going to get permission to do rallies written into his contract anytime soon.

  Get well soon Robert.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 1:45 p.m. z31maniac SuperDork

  ^Yeah, that's too bad as I thought he woudl be a dark horse this year.

  I hope he makes a full and quick recovery.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 2:20 p.m. Jamesc2123 Reader

  Wow. Some further searching online reveals how serious this is.

  Apparently he struck the end of a guard rail which came through the firewall and severely injured his right side. The video oldsaw posted shows a hole in the firewall big enough to crawl through....scary.

  Doctors are saying that his hand is the most gravely injured. Bad enough that doctors were considering amputating it, but now they say they've managed to save it. Still, if it is that bad, it could be a very long road for Robert...lets hope he makes it through ok...

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/06/robert-kubica-serious-injuries-rally-crash

  http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/motorsport/02/06/f1.crash/index.html

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  Feb. 6, 2011 2:26 p.m. Matt B HalfDork

  Damn, prayers go out to him and his family.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 3:40 p.m. Maroon92 SuperDork

  That guardian article says he could lose function in his hand. They supposedly returned bloodflow to the hand, potentially saving it from being cut off, but they have not thus far been able to return muscular operation to the hand.

  That sucks! I really like Robert.

  XBL GamerTag: bcbrownell Racing is the process of turning money into noise.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 3:47 p.m. sachilles Dork

  Horrible news. Sounds like a really freak occurrence. Hoping for the best.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 4:56 p.m. T.J. SuperDork

  That sucks. I liked to root for him in F1.

  {Place witty saying here}

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  Feb. 6, 2011 5:59 p.m. aussiesmg SuperDork

  Agreed he seemed to be a rising star, hope he recovers like Mark Weber did, although this sounds more severe

  http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/22/2427065.htm

  Cornering is like bringing a woman to climax. Jackie Stewart

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  Feb. 6, 2011 6:04 p.m. Feedyurhed HalfDork

  pigeon wrote: Methinks no other F1 driver is going to get permission to do rallies written into his contract anytime soon. Get well soon Robert.

  I agree and frankly it would not be a bad idea. Rally can be be very bad for your health. Of course F1 is no walk in the park but it is at least the main job. Kubica is a talented driver and he will be missed.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 6:54 p.m. doorman New Reader

  That absolutely sucks, thank God he is still ALIVE! Not that long ago drivers were losing their lives FAR too often! Safety has come a LONG way! We're praying for you Robert!!!

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  Feb. 6, 2011 7:18 p.m. ncjay Reader

  Bottom line is those steel guard rails are very deadly, for both street cars and race cars.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 7:30 p.m. oldsaw SuperDork

  Update:

  http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89315

  It's confirmed that a portion of the guardrail penetrated the cockpit. Kubica's right hand was partially severed, but surgery has restored blood flow to the hand and the other injuries have been addressed, too.

  Preliminary prognosis is that he'll be out of action for the 2011 season. I'm just hoping he regains full-function status and gets back to work as soon as he can.

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  Feb. 6, 2011 10:56 p.m. friedgreencorrado SuperDork

  Another update: evidently Kubica had the good fortune to have had the accident in the locality of one of Europe's finest hand surgery specialists. Man, that takes "I'd rather be lucky than good" to a new level.

  http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns22913.html

  Most sites are now reporting that it's true..he glanced the car off a building, and ended up riding right into the end of an Armco-style steel guardrail. All I know is that the 2011 season will be a little less exciting without him.

  How can it be a midlife crisis, when I've driven sportscars my entire life?

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  Feb. 6, 2011 10:59 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  That sucks, I hope he gets better and returns to F1, or at least some form of racing.

  Michael Pinto - 73 AMC Javelin / GoKart / 93 Miata STS / 01 Grand Prix GT / 06 Mazda5

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  Feb. 6, 2011 11:57 p.m. MrBenjamonkey HalfDork

  Gih, that sucks for Robert. I'd hate to think what would happen to someone hitting that guardrail in a vehicle without such advanced cage/restraint/safety systems.

  They might want to rethink the design of those barriers.

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  Feb. 7, 2011 5:43 a.m. Rusnak_322 Reader

  MrBenjamonkey wrote: Gih, that sucks for Robert. I'd hate to think what would happen to someone hitting that guardrail in a vehicle without such advanced cage/restraint/safety systems. They might want to rethink the design of those barriers.

  I am sure that the average traffic is not going the same speed as a rally car.

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