Kamui Kobayashi to fill in for injured Timo Glock at Brazilian Grand Prix

Kamui Kobayashi to fill in for injured Timo Glock at Brazilian Grand Prix

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Toyota



As the Formula One championship winds to a close, the series is on track for a big change-up in drivers. But not before one last in-season switch. Earlier this season, Toro Rosso replaced Sebastien Bourdais with Jaime Alguersuai. Ferrari called up Luca Badoer to fill in for an injured Felipe Massa when Michael Schumacher wasn't up to the task, and subsequently replaced Badoer with Giancarlo Fisichella, leaving Force India to promote Tonio Liuzzi to Fisico's seat. And of course Renault fired Nelson Piquet Jr and brought in Romain Grosjean in his stead. Now Toyota has announced that Kamui Kobayashi will be filling in for Timo Glock at Toyota this coming weekend in Brazil.

Glock started out with four races for Jordan Grand Prix in 2004, earning the rare distinction of scoring championship points in his race debut. The German driver then moved back down to Champ Cars and on to the GP2 Series, whose championship he won in 2007 before being called back up to F1 by Toyota. So far this season, Timo's scored two podiums, including a second place finish in Singapore, but may have to sit out the remaining two races this season due to an underestimated injury. During the Saturday qualification session for this past Japanese Grand Prix, Glock suffered a major crash, which seemed initially only to have cut his leg. Glock was sidelined for the race, but was expected to be back in the cockpit for Brazil until it was discovered that he suffered a cracked vertebrae.

Unable to drive, Toyota has promoted their reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi to fill in. The reigning champion in the GP2 Asia Series, Kobayashi will be making his grand prix debut at a track he doesn't know next weekend in a car he's only driven once. The 23-year-old driver is excited for his unexpected race debut, and is undoubtedly hoping he can match Glock's distinction. Follow the jump for Toyota's official announcement.

[Source: Toyota | Image: Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty]Continue reading Kamui Kobayashi to fill in for injured Timo Glock at Brazilian Grand Prix

Kamui Kobayashi to fill in for injured Timo Glock at Brazilian Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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