Prior to his accident last year, Robert Kubica was a force to be reckoned with in F1 Courtesy of Wikimedia Commmons

Polish racing driver Robert Kubica made another big step towards achieving his goal of returning to Formula 1 after winning the Citta di Bassano rally in northern Italy.

The 27-year-old won seven of the nine stages in a near flawless performance to show Formula 1 team bosses that despite his injury problems, he still has the talent to compete at the very highest level.

The former BMW and Renault driver, who finished fourth in the 2008 Formula 1 championships told journalists, “I still have a long road in front of me. … But this shows the road is not as long as we thought.”

This was Mr Kubica’s third rally and second overall victory since his return to racing after he received horrific injuries, including a partially severed right arm, in a crash during the Ronde di Andorra rally in February 2011.

Following this latest win, the driver’s surgeon Igor Rosello said Mr Kubica is now 50 percent recovered.