WRC – Meeke: “Disappointing to give up like that”

While Kris Meeke was dueling for victory against Sébastien Ogier, the Abu Dhabi WRT resident retired at the end of SS12 following a broken gearbox. The Northern Irishman was less than half a minute behind the leader of the event and kept the pressure on the Frenchman until his mishap.

“I guess you could say I was unlucky.”, commented Kris Meeke after the third stage. “It seemed like I was following the same trajectory as everyone else, but I hit a big rock for some reason. It tore off the crankcase guard and damaged the radiator and gearbox. It's a strange incident but it's disappointing to give up like this after facing all the challenges of this rally with the snow, the ice, the slush and the choice of tires and being able to fight against Seb. »

Despite this disillusionment, Kris Meeke remains optimistic for the rest of the season after shining in Monte-Carlo. “We have to take the positives and remember it was a great performance”, added the DS 3 driver WRC. “Seb was definitely a little stronger in some parts and I struggled to stay in contact, but I did my best and my pace showed that I was constantly improving. This is encouraging for the future. »

Kris Meeke will not compete in the final stage of the Monte-Carlo Rally (like Jari-Matti Latvala and Bryan Bouffier), the regulations not allowing drivers to restart in Rally 2 when they abandoned on the penultimate day.