
Overnight heavy storms had left the gravel roads especially
slippery and the Citroen cars were shod with Michelin LTX Force H4 (hard) tyres!
Perhaps not the best choice for conditions compared to those who had opted for
a mix of hard and soft compounds.
Just 8 kms into the first stage, Kris Meeke’s day was cut short.
He ran too wide on a blind corner and hit the outside of the road, breaking the
left rear suspension of his DS 3 WRC.
Afterwards
Kris commented: ”We knew that the first stage would be
difficult. With the storms overnight, there were quite a few damp patches and
it was very slippery. I didn’t have a good feeling. I made a first mistake, but
got away with that one. I tried to concentrate more to find the right pace. But
then we came over a blind crest into a corner and I ran wide, hitting the
embankment on the outside of the bend as we exited. The suspension gave way and
we had to call it a day. After two good steps forward in Argentina and
Portugal, it’s a shame to be out of the race so quickly. It means we just need
to keep working and that’s what we’ll endeavour to do tomorrow.”
Once repairs were effected he was allowed to rejoin the rally on
Saturday under Rally2 regulations but had to run first car on the road and
sweeping the loose gravel off the racing line.
Looking
back on Saturday Kris concluded: “Today was an interesting experience for me. We were first on the road
for the wrong reasons, but one day I hope to be in this situation as leader of
the World Championship! This morning, above all we were looking to get a good
feeling in the car after not driving for most of yesterday. Gradually, the
feeling came and we set some pretty decent times. On the second runs, I was
able to push hard as the racing line was already swept clean. Although we had a
few minor issues with the gearshift selector, we had four good stages, with
times similar to the guys who are fighting for the win.”
At
the rally finish he added:
“After a disastrous start to the race, rejoining under
Rally2 rules yesterday was an interesting and rewarding experience. My times
were pretty good, especially in the afternoon. Today was just about getting
around and collecting some points for the team in the Manufacturers’ World
Championship. We did just that and now I’ll switch my attention to Rally
Poland. We know about the potential of the car and we’ve got a chance of getting
a good result provided we work hard.”
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