Kris Meeke leaves WRC

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Originally Posted by Lousada

He is/was quite naive to think the world really works that way. Talent is nothing, contacts are everything. A few weeks ago I read an interview with Gregoire de Mevius, who said when he was still driving the WRC, he thought exactly the same as Meeke does now. Wiser now, De Mevius has a Rallyraid-team with Nissan pick-up trucks with which he will compete the Dakar 2007.

Also it's a little odd Meeke doesn't accept the PWRC deal. I can imagine worser jobs than rally-drving.

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I agree!

After listening to the latest interview with him, I think he has to put most of the blame on himself. He finished 7th in the JWRC and seem to blame everybody but himself for not reaching his goal of becomming a WRC driver. And he is blaming his lack of money - well wake-up sunshine! Money has always been a major part of motorsport. If this is a surprise to you then you are even more naive than what should be allowed. He acts like everybody else is to blame, and that for sure is not going to get him a seat in WRC.

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Originally Posted by MikeD

I agree!

After listening to the latest interview with him, I think he has to put most of the blame on himself. He finished 7th in the JWRC and seem to blame everybody but himself for not reaching his goal of becomming a WRC driver. And he is blaming his lack of money - well wake-up sunshine! Money has always been a major part of motorsport. If this is a surprise to you then you are even more naive than what should be allowed. He acts like everybody else is to blame, and that for sure is not going to get him a seat in WRC.

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Mike, I suggest you do some more reasearch before making a sweeping generalisation like that. He had 3 non-finishes due to mechanical failures, while leading EVERY event in the JWRC. He has the most fastest stages times by a massive margin, and he did not apportion blame to anyone in this interview.... He is simply stating he has no money to continue. Tell me what part of the interview below is not true...



http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sp...cle2079543.ece



Meeke no longer driven by World Rally dream
Saturday, December 16, 2006

By Sammy Hamill

Kris Meeke has given up on his World rally championship dream.

He has rejected an offer to be part of a Red Bull junior team and his name will not be on the list of drivers registered for the 2007 championship when it is announced this weekend.


Meeke was offered the chance to join young Austrian Andreas Aigner in a two-car Production Cup team, but the 26-year-old Ulsterman said he had made up his mind enough was enough.


"Being part of the World championship is all I have thought about for the past five years - chasing it, craving it, but not any more," he said.

"I still want to do it and if some team wants me to drive for them, then fine, but I'm not going cap in hand begging to be given the chance. They know what I am capable of.

"It has been like a constant toothache for too long and now that I have made the decision the pain has gone."

A member of the Citroen Junior World championship team for the past two years, where he was clearly the fastest driver, Meeke admits he has been on a roller-coaster for the past week and it seemed his dream to drive WRC cars would be realised with a move to Kronos Racing as part of an M2 team for Citroen.

On Wednesday that dream ended with Austrian Manfred Stohl moving from the OMV Peugeot team to Kronos, apparently as partner to Spaniard Xavi Pons.

However, Pons suddenly announced yesterday that he was pulling the plug.

"That will have come as a major shock for Kronos as they were relying on him for a big slice of their budget," said Meeke.

Meeke could have stayed in the World championship scene with Red Bull, but says that he has no real interest in driving production cars.

"If I could see that it was leading somewhere then I might have done it, but look at Martin Rowe and our own Niall McShea, they have both won the Production World championship in the past few years and where did it get them? Nowhere," he said.

"Neither of them has ever been given the chance to drive WRC cars. It just doesn't lead anywhere."


A former British junior champion and the protégé of former World champion Colin McRae, Meeke has become disillusioned by the whole WRC scene.

"It is not the glamorous world that it is portrayed as," he says.

"It is a hard place where money, not talent, is the most important thing.

"I'm not just talking about myself. There are loads of exceptionally talented drivers around, but unless they can buy their way in they will never be given the chance to show what they can do.


"The trouble is, you become addicted to living in that world, as I have done for the past few years and sometimes the hardest decision is to say no; to walk away, but I have decided to step outside that bubble and live in the real world again.


"It will be a massive culture change and it is going to take a while to adjust."


Meeke gave up his job as a design engineer with Ford's World championship M-Sport team to chase his rally dream.

Would he be interested in competing in the British or Irish Tarmac championships?

"I will take a couple of months to myself and see what I want to do," he said.


"I haven't really thought about the future.

"The World championship is what got me up at seven o'clock in the morning to go to the gym and got on my bike to ride for 40 miles a day.


"Whether anything else would provide the same motivation I don't know."

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Originally Posted by Buzz Lightyear

Mike, I suggest you do some more reasearch before making a sweeping generalisation like that. He had 3 non-finishes due to mechanical failures, while leading EVERY event in the JWRC. He has the most fastest stages times by a massive margin, and he did not apportion blame to anyone in this interview.... He is simply stating he has no money to continue. Tell me what part of the interview below is not true...

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Sorry BL, but I just don't agree with your points of view. If you look at KM's retirement record:

2002: 1 start - 1 retirement
2003: 7 starts - 5 retirements
2004: 7 starts - 3 retirements
2005: 8 starts - 4 retirements
2006: 6 starts - 3 retirements

A retirement percentage of (16 retirements/29 starts) = 55% and two wins.

I am sorry, but to me that doesn't look like the next big talent. Of course one should not only look at retirements, but you have to finish rallies to win them.

But what bother me the most is his attitude. The way he says "either WRC or nothing" in the interview at crash.net - it is the wrong way to express yourself. It will only lead to "nothing"

Time will tell Mr Mike if your views are correct.

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Originally Posted by MikeD

2006: 6 starts - 3 retirements

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Yes, and how many this year mechanical failures... 3

In his first two years he was in Opel Corsa setting fastest times then it broke.... every time.

I dont think you have a grasp on the money involved here. Is not a case of 'choosing' not to do PWRC... it cost €300.000, to drive a Red Bull Gp.N car.

Do you think that sort of money grow on trees?!

If you went to the bank and asked for €300.000, and we need another €2.000.000 euros next year... and the same the year after, you would be a laughing stock.

Face facts Mike, if 12 of the top 15 drivers where running their rallying careers as a buinsess, they would be closed down.

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Originally Posted by MikeD

Sorry BL, but I just don't agree with your points of view. If you look at KM's retirement record:

2002: 1 start - 1 retirement
2003: 7 starts - 5 retirements
2004: 7 starts - 3 retirements
2005: 8 starts - 4 retirements
2006: 6 starts - 3 retirements

A retirement percentage of (16 retirements/29 starts) = 55% and two wins.

I am sorry, but to me that doesn't look like the next big talent. Of course one should not only look at retirements, but you have to finish rallies to win them.

But what bother me the most is his attitude. The way he says "either WRC or nothing" in the interview at crash.net - it is the wrong way to express yourself. It will only lead to "nothing"

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I admire Kris as a driver, and I admire that unlike so many he has the balls to walk away, you have your view, I have mine, and mine is that he is the most deserving person right now for a step up to a WRC drive, more deserving IMO than 1/2 the guys already there, he has made mistakes, but his speed is incredible, and remember the WRC cars a a lot easier to drive, I think some of his accidents have came partly from frustration at being stuck in a S1600 despite he and nearly everyone else knowing he should have had a break by now. I still hope something works for him, but he can go with his head high, unlike the renta drivers who will only have a WRC future till they can no longer get Daddy etc to pay for them

radio interview http://www.crash.net/uk/en/services/....wma~csp~1.htm

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Originally Posted by MikeD

2002: 1 start - 1 retirement
2003: 7 starts - 5 retirements
2004: 7 starts - 3 retirements
2005: 8 starts - 4 retirements
2006: 6 starts - 3 retirements

A retirement percentage of (16 retirements/29 starts) = 55% and two wins.

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Colin McRae:

1987: 2 starts - 1 retirement
1988: 1 start - 1 retirement
1989: 3 starts - 1 retirement
1990: 1 start - 0 retirements
1991: 1 start - 1 retirement
1992: 4 starts - 1 retirement
1993: 6 starts - 3 retirements
1994: 9 starts - 4 retirements

27 starts - 11 retirements

In 1994 would you imagine that this would be one of the biggest rally drivers? At that time he already was... with almost 45% retirements.

Some analyses suck... people look at some things that are useless. Look at the speed, the consistency, the posture. That's what makes a great driver. Rallying has the mechanical aspect, and not always is driver's fault.

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Originally Posted by Buzz Lightyear

Do you think that sort of money grow on trees?!

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Apparently Kris Meeke does:

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Originally Posted by Kris Meeke

"I still want to do it and if some team wants me to drive for them, then fine, but I'm not going cap in hand begging to be given the chance. They know what I am capable of.

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For the amount of money it takes to drive WRC you need to crawl around the dust for everyone that might give you a penny. Sure they know what he is capable of, everybody knows that. Wilson, Frequelin and Richards run a business not a charity. They are not out for the fastest driver (unless it's the next Loeb) but they want the driver which has the greatest value for money.

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Originally Posted by JAM

Colin McRae:

1987: 2 starts - 1 retirement
1988: 1 start - 1 retirement
1989: 3 starts - 1 retirement
1990: 1 start - 0 retirements
1991: 1 start - 1 retirement
1992: 4 starts - 1 retirement
1993: 6 starts - 3 retirements
1994: 9 starts - 4 retirements

27 starts - 11 retirements

In 1994 would you imagine that this would be one of the biggest rally drivers? At that time he already was... with almost 45% retirements.

Some analyses suck... people look at some things that are useless. Look at the speed, the consistency, the posture. That's what makes a great driver. Rallying has the mechanical aspect, and not always is driver's fault.

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Not a good comparison, by that time Colin had already won a few WRC rounds and two BRC titles. Plus he drove with the big boys in Group A and not in little junior shoeboxes.