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22 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 JULY 2017 Sport FORMULA 1 MOTOGP Robert Kubica to drive for Renault in Hungary next week ROBERT Kubica's hopes of completing a dream Formula One comeback were given a major boost on Monday after it was confirmed he will drive a 2017 Renault in Hungary next week. Kubica, who has recently completed two tests in the 2012 Renault, will be handed his first taste of the new gen- eration of grand prix car at the Hungaroring following the conclusion of Sunday's Hun- garian Grand Prix. He will drive for Renault on the second day of the in-sea- son test which starts a week on Tuesday. Renault described the Pole's participation in the test as "a new phase in assessing Kubi- ca's capabilities". "The first two days of testing allowed both Robert and our- selves to gather a great amount of information," Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul added in a short statement released by the French team on Monday. "The upcoming session with the R.S.17 at the Hungaror- ing will allow us all to obtain detailed and precise data in a current car and representative conditions. "After this test, we will care- fully analyse the collected information to determine in what conditions it would be possible for Robert to return to competition in the upcom- ing years." Kubica, 32, has been side- lined from the sport for more than six years after a rallying incident saw him partially sev- er his right arm. The Polish driver completed 115 laps at a private test in Valencia in June before a fur- ther trial last week in which he managed 90 laps of the Paul Ricard circuit in France. Kubica, who won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, was regarded as one of the finest drivers of his generation before the accident which brought his F1 career to a sudden halt. Renault, the team with which Kubica was driving for before his crash, are yet to announce their driver line-up for next season. German Nico Hulkenberg joined Renault this season af- ter signing a multi-year deal while Britain's Jolyon Palmer agreed a one-year extension at the end of his rookie campaign last season. Mercedes to enter Formula E in 2019/20 MERCEDES has confirmed that it will enter Formula E for the sixth season of the category in 2019/20, and will cease its DTM programme at the end of 2018. Mercedes took up an option last October to enter Formula E for 2018/19 and confirmed on Monday that it will compete in the championship, albeit defer- ring its debut by a year. Mercedes' entry into Formula E will also bring down the cur- tain on its participation in the German-based DTM category, which it will leave at the end of 2018. "In motorsport, like in every other area, we want to be the benchmark in the premium segment and to explore inno- vative new projects," said Mer- cedes boss Toto Wolff. "The combination of Formula 1 and Formula E delivers that. "Formula E is like an excit- ing start-up venture: it offers a brand-new format, combining racing with a strong event char- acter, in order to promote cur- rent and future technologies. "Electrification is happen- ing in the road car world and Formula E offers manufactur- ers an interesting platform to bring this technology to a new audience – and to do so with a completely new kind of racing, different to any other series. "I am pleased that we were able to extend our entry option for one year to the 2019/20 sea- son. "This gives us time to prop- erly understand the series and to prepare for our entry in the right way." On leaving DTM, Wolff com- mented: "Although leaving is tough for all of us, we will be doing everything during this season and next to make sure we win as many DTM titles as possible before we go. "We owe that to our fans and to ourselves." SALES EXECUTIVES MediaToday is a media company involved in the publication of newspapers, magazines and TV programmes. These include MaltaToday, Illum, Gourmet Today, Xtra and Dwarna. Vacancies have arisen for sales executives. Experience in the sale of advertising space is an asset. Candidates for the job must be assertive, outgoing and in possession of a driving license. Only selected applicants will be summoned for an interview. Closing date: 29/07/2017 Please send your applications to: The Managing Editor MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016 Or email: info@mediatoday.com.mt Bautista stays with Aspar for 2018 season ÁLVARO Bautista will continue to ride for Aspar in MotoGP next season, the team con- firmed on Monday. Bautista raced for Aspar in 125cc, taking the 2006 crown, and in 250cc, before returning to the squad in the premier class for 2017, following spells with Suzuki and Gresini. Bautista holds 11th in this year's standings, with a best fin- ish of fourth in Argentina, and will remain with the team into 2018. "I am happy to be spending an- other season as part of the As- par family," said Bautista. "It is a union that can help both the team and myself to grow. "We are having a strong sea- son, I have a good relationship with the team and I feel very comfortable on the Ducati and with the support from the fac- tory. "I think we can continue to improve and achieve good re- sults." Bautista has started 126 races in the premier class, scoring three podiums, and a best of fifth in the standings in 2012.