Rally - Meeke in top 10

Tyre choice was critical on Day 3 of the Monte with both Sebastien Loeb and Kris Meeke ending the day back in the top ten after yesterday’s troubles, albeit a long way behind the leading trio.

The DS 3 WRCs then topped the timesheets as Sébastien Loeb went fastest on the mostly dry roads of Prunières – Embrun (SS11) before Kris Meeke won the daunting Sisteron – Thoard test. The British driver set the fastest time with a mix of two studded tyres and two super softs, a combination which proved very effective when he tackled a section with icy patches and snow in the middle of the stage.

Sébastien Loeb commented: “We didn’t really have the same motivation this morning. So decided to change strategy. Instead of going with a mix of tyres and spending the thirty-five kilometres of Sisteron understeering to try and not lose time, I preferred to enjoy myself a bit by putting on slick tyres. I tried to be aggressive to dominate the car and to drive quickly. I’m also here to have fun with the DS 3 WRC and it worked out pretty well today!”

Kris Meeke added: “It all came down to tyre choice, in the end. Ideally, it would have been better to have hard tyres on SS11 and then studded tyres on SS12 but that wasn’t possible. We had to compromise. We managed to get the right mix of tyres to set the fastest time on the final stage. So I suppose that’s some consolation after what happened yesterday.”