Confident Kubica says BMW are back to their best

By Timothy Collings

VALENCIA, Spain, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Poland's Robert Kubica declared BMW Sauber back to their best on Saturday after qualifying third for Sunday's European Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old, whose results have dipped since he won the Canadian Grand Prix in June, said he felt his team were again more competitive than anyone other than frontrunners Ferrari and McLaren.

Kubica clearly enjoyed himself on the new 5.42-km Mediterranean street circuit around the harbour in Valencia.

"It was good fun," he said. "And it has been a very good qualifying for myself and the team after some unlucky races.

"The pace of the car here in Valencia is not as bad as it was before, but we are missing a bit of time to Ferrari and McLaren. That is all."

Kubica said the weather, with the threat of rain, had been only a minor complication to what was otherwise a smooth qualifying session.

"Only in qualifying two, there were some drops (of rain) after corner 10 in the last part of the back straight, but it didn't have any effect on me and our driving," he said.

"I think we are in good shape. We are strong again now. But I was concerned about grip in some places out on the track and we will have to look at our tyres carefully."

Kubica made his Formula One debut when he replaced former world champion Canadian Jacques Villeneuve at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix and he has hardly looked back since then.

He won his first pole position in Bahrain this year and took his first victory in Montreal, a year on from crashing heavily there in the Canadian Grand Prix.

His BMW team-mate Nick Heidfeld, who has struggled this season to get heat into the tyres in qualifying, will start eighth.

The German said that was the best he could have achieved with the fuel load.

Heidfeld said he also had a problem with Toyota's Timo Glock holding him up.

"Our team tells us over the radio how many seconds behind us a fast car is - and when we may have to let one overtake," he said. "Apparently, this isn't the case in every team. Luckily, I was able to get a second lap in and it was good enough."

(Editing by Alan Baldwin)