Thoughts on Kris Meeke's Recent Performances?

[janvanvurpa]

People need to stop quoting that jparker guy, he's clearly an imbecile.

I agree..Seems angry and touchy...Sounds like a Subaru fan-boi.. Wonder if he's ever done a rally ever?

[OldF]

Biased or not?

https://www.facebook.com/pg/voiceofrally/posts/

“My Thoughts on Meeke and Citroen
Is it fair to say Citroen Racing are in a bit of a crisis? That was the opening line from my post Portugal column and if it wasn’t exactly a crisis then, it most certainly is a crisis now. And on the face of it, the panic buttons have been well and truly pressed. Dropping Kris Meeke for Poland and heaping all the blame for a less than satisfactory season so far at the door of one person is a bizarre response to what is clearly a collective problem.
It’s very easy to look at the stats and say that Meeke has undelivered so far. But stats in isolation are no basis for making or justifying decisions. The only mistakes that can fairly be attributed to Meeke were in Monte Carlo and Portugal. In Sweden the car was undriveable, Argentina unpredictable, Corsica unreliable and in Sardinia the accident unexplainable!
There is very clearly something amiss with the 2017 C3WRC and that is not the sole responsibility of one man.
You only have to look at the performances of Breen and Mikkelsen in Sardinia to realise that all is far from perfect with the car’s performance. Mikkelsen, a man who has won three rallies and is considered one of the very best drivers in the world finished a country mile behind the winner. Eight minutes down on Tanak’s time with only minor issues speaks volumes. And I really don't buy this “I’m taking my time learning the car” line. Young Lappi, with only one rally at the top level and immeasurably less experience than Mikkelsen sets fastest times in six stages and blew the Cirtroens away. Mikkelsen was and still is a world class, rally winning driver - so explain that one with your stats!
Likewise, Breen once again reported the car behaving strangely and in the Monte Lerno stage was over a minute down on the fastest time. There is a lot of evidence that sadly points towards more fundamental issues within the team other than just the underperformance of one driver.
Meeke would appear to be the sacrificial lamb. Publicly chastised and humiliated, he is being told effectively to take one for the team. All bosses deal with crisis situations in different ways. But i prefer the approach of Monsieur Nandan. When Neuville, his highly paid plainly unhappy number one driver was failing consistently to deliver the goods, Nandan stood by him. He gave him time, and worked through the problems with the driver and the car. Look at the result now - the only driver capable of seriously challenging Ogier. And is there any talk of Nandan dropping Paddon after his difficult start to the season? Of course not.
And finally, what the hell is wrong with us Brits? We have a world class driver who can and will win many more rallies but we crucify him with an almost vengeful joy when things aren't going his way. Sadly there’s a transparently fragile shallowness to the “support” of some within the UK rallying community. I have to say, it really does make me very angry, but maybe more than that, very sad.”

[AnttiL]

Keith Oswin's reply

Comparisons are inevitably drawn between Meeke and McRae so I'll share one story from my time at Autosport. After McRae had needlessly wrecked another Impreza in Argentina 1994, David Richards called me on the Monday morning and asked me to write a story questioning McRae's future in the team. I was pretty shocked but DR explained that Colin simply didn't seem to be getting the message and so, maybe, if the story was made public, the penny might drop. History shows that McRae DID get the message and go on to become World Champion next year. I've no idea how much (if indeed any) of that was down to the story but, in light of Citroen's decision, I can't help wondering if this might not be an inspired move by Yves Matton and that, in a few month's time, people might look back and see this as a turning point in Meeke's career...

[seb_sh]

https://www.facebook.com/pg/voiceofrally/posts/

”When Neuville, his highly paid plainly unhappy number one driver was failing consistently to deliver the goods, Nandan stood by him. He gave him time, and worked through the problems with the driver and the car.”[/I]

Nandan demoted Neuville and there seemed to be pressure on him to get his act together. I think there was also a quote after his Monte and Sweden mistakes that such a performance is not ok (but I may be wrong). Sure he didn't drop him completely but I don't think this comparison is entirely correct. That's not to say I think Matton managed the situation well but we'll see.

Now that everyone has pretty much agreed that the Citroen car is very sensitive to setup and conditions it will be interesting to see if it can be fixed with setup or there is some fundamental flaw. Remember Meeke did almost all of the development driving so only he and/or the engineers can be blamed for this.

[jparker]

Do you guys believe Meeke had the freedome to drive the way he likes, or he was asked to obey orders, and he didn't?
I think this is a key question in order to determine whether we have to blame him or not.

[Rally Power]

Keith Oswin's reply
Comparisons are inevitably drawn between Meeke and McRae so I'll share one story from my time at Autosport. After McRae had needlessly wrecked another Impreza in Argentina 1994, David Richards called me on the Monday morning and asked me to write a story questioning McRae's future in the team. I was pretty shocked but DR explained that Colin simply didn't seem to be getting the message and so, maybe, if the story was made public, the penny might drop. History shows that McRae DID get the message and go on to become World Champion next year. I've no idea how much (if indeed any) of that was down to the story but, in light of Citroen's decision, I can't help wondering if this might not be an inspired move by Yves Matton and that, in a few month's time, people might look back and see this as a turning point in Meeke's career...

Interesting piece. It shows how current brit journos are so short seeing on Meeke’s driving approach. They’re helping him to fall off the cliff, not to avoid it.

[stefanvv]

May be they just see Evans as the next british champion?!?

[wrc2017]

What about Citroens own PR release..."giving Meeke time off to recharge for Finland return where he won last year."

By implication they are implying the want him to do the same this year?

So, maybe Matton and Citroen should make public Meeke objectives for Finland?

Interesting piece. It shows how current brit journos are so short seeing on Meeke’s driving approach. They’re helping him to fall off the cliff, not to avoid it.

[Rally Power]

What about Citroens own PR release..."giving Meeke time off to recharge for Finland return where he won last year."
By implication they are implying the want him to do the same this year?
So, maybe Matton and Citroen should make public Meeke objectives for Finland?

Agree, the team communication (Matton comments included) seems to be as erratic as Meeke's driving.

[wrc2017]

Dont forget the the car either...

as erratic as Meeke's driving.