FACTBOX-Motor racing-Poland's Robert Kubica

une 8 (Reuters) - Factbox on Poland's Robert Kubica, who took his and BMW Sauber's first Formula One victory in Canada on Sunday to take the lead in the drivers' championship:

Born: Dec 7, 1984 in Krakow (Poland)

* Signed by BMW Sauber as a reserve driver for 2006 after a test for then-champions Renault.

* Made his Formula One debut in Hungary in 2006 as a replacement for Canadian former world champion Jacques Villeneuve. Poland's first Formula One driver ended that season 16th with six points.

* Took first F1 podium finish with third place at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

* Lucky to survive unscathed after a huge crash in Canada last year that put him in hospital and forced him to miss the following U.S. Grand Prix.

* Secured BMW Sauber's first pole position at this year's Bahrain Grand Prix in April and grabbed his and their first win in Canada.

* Kubica has come up the hard way, struggling for funding and moving to Italy at the age of 13 after being driven around Europe by his father in pursuit of his karting career.

* A keen rally fan, the Pole has not ruled out one day switching to that form of motorsport. He has also singled out snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan as a sporting hero
* Kubica's approach to Formula One is uncomplicated, the Pole declaring earlier this season that he is happy as long as he has food, a fast car and a roof over his head.

* The 1.85 metre tall Pole shed six kilos between the end of last season and the start of the 2008 campaign to put himself on more level terms with diminutive team mate Nick Heidfeld. "We have seen that...if I were lighter I would go a bit quicker," he said in April.

* Kubica said this week that he has benefited from new rules this season banning traction control and so-called driver aids. "As soon as we switched off all the systems which last year were helping drivers I found the car much better, much easier to drive," he said. (Compiled by Alan Baldwin, editing by Miles Evans)
Source:reuters.com