Meeke wants to widen the gap in Madeira

After Peugeot in Russia, it?s Skoda?s turn to skip an event of the IRC season this weekend. The Czech manufacturer will not be present in Madeira to compete in the second Portuguese event of the year. The Briton Kris Meeke will then try to take advantage of the defection of the Mlada Boleslav team to widen the gap with his closest pursuer, Jan Kopecky, absent in Madeira and back to one point overall. “ Skoda's victory [in Russia] shows how close the championship is. So I can't afford to have a blank score. " said Meeke.

Last May, Meeke won on the tracks of the Azores, the first of the two Portuguese rounds of the 2009 championship. This time he will have to battle with the asphalt specials of Madeira where, among others, Freddy Loix (Peugeot 207 S2000) awaits him. ) and Nicolas Vouilloz (Peugeot 207 S2000). The first will want to take his revenge after being beaten at home during the Rally from Ypres last June. As for the second, he simply remains on a victory in the archipelago in 2008 and must score big points if he still wants to have a chance of retaining his title at the end of the year.

More than seventy crews will take part in the 50th Madeira Rally, including twenty-one Super 2000s. With the presence of Guy Wilks (Proton Satria S2000), Giandomenico Basso (Abarth Grande Punto) and Luca Rossetti (Abarth Grande Punto ), the battle promises to be close from the first special scheduled for Thursday July 30. Finally, as always, we will have to keep a close eye on the performance of the local drivers. Bruno Magalhaes (Peugeot 207 S2000), reigning Portuguese champion, and Bernardo Sousa (Abarth Grande Punto), native of Funchal, the capital of Madeira, will try to spoil the party.