Good move by Citroen!
Kri$ Meeke is safe, alive and healthy.
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Good move by Citroen!
Kri$ Meeke is safe, alive and healthy.
Obviously they have been wanting to get
rid of him, purely because the results are not there.
Not fair to do it mid season, but honestly they gave him plenty of chances.
It certainly doesnt fit in with their latest Ad campaign: 'Comfort is the new cool'... this is their future direction.
I think they were going to pull the plug on WRC at the end of the season anyway, and they dont want to risk damage to their brand before they go.
I didn't say I thought that at all!!
I think he's costing them too much money and it's pointless him being in the car if he can't bring it home. The car hasn't been right from day one and Kris is too stubborn to just cruise around and get a result, because it makes it look like he's the slow one, not the car.
They had a full season last one, with testing and development in-between, but they just haven't progressed. There's a lot wrong at PSA at the moment and with the end of their programme imminent (i.e. probably this year will be their last) they simply didn't see the value in pouring more and more cash into the car.
It's a sad end to their current chapter in the WRC, but it's been plainly obvious fro the start of last year that they were not really in the game.
Hopefully Peugeot may fill the gap, if they see the marketing value in the WRC again.
Unless Ford and Wilson want him for taping into the "McRae legacy", this is the end of the road for Kris Meeke. It's saddening that his career had to end like this, but the truth is, everything was a vicious circle. He fought a lot of demons (Colin's passing, Mini + Prodrive fallout, bad C3). He always managed to rebuilt his career, but now things are very difficult. Good luck to his future endeavours.
The change from Citroen to Peugeot for their rally programme has been written in the wall for years, you need to be completely naive not to see it.
Citroen is not a sporty brand anymore, and they never were, they have tried it with the DS3 Racing and such but there targets have changed.
And recently Peugeot's boss hinted that they would invest further in GTI models, you do the math.
Citroen will surely go at end of the year. I can't see anyone who is good enough to win wanting to move to that team and drive that car.
Its a shame for Kris, that true. But in my opinion Citroen do have a valid point puuting him aside for the rest of the season.
When Matton was still in charge, whit the DS3 car, Meeke has had a few "last chanses" already.
In the 2016 "sabatical" year he was able to build and prepare a new generation WRC car to his liking, wich didnt work out that wel. Ok speed is defenetly there, but he has had a lot of chanses over the last 3 or 4 seasons.
It really looks like someone from Citroen leadership saw something like this:
And made call to Budar along these lines:
Citroen Leadership: Is it true that they could have died?
Budar: No car is indestructible, with some bad luck drivers/co drivers get injured or even die.
Citroen Leadership: This Meeke has been crashing before hasn't he?
Budar:Yes last year he crashed a lot and was dropped for a rally then crashed again 2 times. This year he also crashed on most events.
Citroen Leadership: But he is your fastest driver?
Budar: Well this year Breen has the best result (2nd) but he does not start all events cause we don't have money since it cost a lot to fix the crashed cars. Loeb was also faster than him both on gravel and tarmac.
Citroen Leadership: Well then, you know what you have to do.
very bad publicity for Citroen ,as i read the reactions from twitter.
Citroen stopped McRae's career short after a year when he thought he was getting a two year deal (even though he only signed a 1year) & now this with Meeke.
As others have said I doubt they'll be around next year.
health and safety! the holy grail to back up any discussion and decision that you don't have the balls to tell the truth and what you really think.
Asta la vista Meeke, pickems will be easier now as it was always a gamble to put him either first or last.
I wonder what they were thinking in Citroën before. For two years we've kept discussing the fact that their driver line-up is weak but they didn't seem to care to get a proper top driver. Now when Meeke is gone who is there to replace him? Neither Breen, nor Ostberg or Lefebvre are able to fight with Ogier, Neuville and Tänak on the long term. Despite this eventuality of Meeke being fired floating in the air for years Citroën didn't prepare any backup solution as it seems. The only thing they can achieve is some occassional podiums but that's nothing what could change their last position in the championship. Moreover they walked into a disasterous PR trap which was visible from miles...
Juho Hanninen on the phone with Budar now.
I don’t quite get all the bashing Citroen’s receiving due to Meeke being sacked. Judging by his presence in media, he’s a nice chap and all that, but… that’s got nothing to do with the things that occurred few hours ago. Let’s face it: Meeke had 17 months to deliver with the C3 in competition as the clear number one driver in the team he represented – and he didn’t. And not only he didn’t do that, but the way he didn’t deliver was something you just can’t accept from a guy who just 17 months ago was the betting companies’ favourite to grab the 2017 driver’s title. Now if you’re Pierre Budar and you’re running an accountable department (or a business unit) in a listed company that is continuously underdelivering, like Citroen WRT undeniably has, sooner or later you HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. Either you do it yourself or you’re told to do it (at the time we don’t know which one was the case). And then you do sacrifices. At the end of the day, Budar himself is accountable, to both his employees and the executives above him. And I’m sure everybody understands that it’s not like Budar thinks “now that we got rid of Meeke, we’ll be scoring so much more points”. That’s not the philosophy here. He shows he’s trying to change the course and that’s what he’s supposed to do and sacking Meeke is the obvious choice. It leaves room for new heroes to emerge. Is that the most likely scenario to happen? Probably not, but neither was Meeke’s resurrection. And if you, as a manager, are tired of waiting the latter to happen, then why not to go with the other option?
Posted minutes ago...
To me this was the natural outcome from Meekes´bad results. Also economics. In combination with the high cost crashes, this was expected. To me I´d expected it to happen, not now but after the season.
Meanwhile one should have liked to see better driversmanagement from the bosses in the team. A Meeke never crashing should yet had given top five results even though he never should reach podiums at the beginning. This should have started more than two years ago.
Remember he was only inches from spoiling his victory in Mexico as well.
Let´s se what next chapter will bring.
Well at least all the Meeke haters like ....... & Co can have their 15 mins of ecstasy and then decide who they can hate next.
Would it have been better for Meeke in the end if they had made this decision already 11 months ago, after Sardegna 2017?
Have none of you ever heard of the saying "basically any publicity is good publicity"?
Meeke wasn't done for none rallying reasons, like problems in his personal life tarnishing the brand in that way. He was only making rallying related headlines.
The Citroen team puts in a meagre amount of finance and scrounges the rest off the Arabs. They have been putting in the least amount possible to give them a reward back. Input vs reward.
Meeke is one of the most popular drivers (for good and bad, because he's dramatic and likeable). He can win races in that car against the best in the world and even when he crashes, it's big big news. Obviously Meeke and Citroen would've rather been world champion last season, but the Citroen team got more mainstream media coverage than near enough all the other teams based off of Mexico alone last year. It was on BBC breakfast 4times the Monday after that power stage incident, when they don't/ barely even report on Wales rally GB anymore. It's not true that this is a decision made because his crashes are damaging Citroen's brand.
It's a decision made because they are either pulling out at the end of the year, or know they are dropping Meeke anyway; and are too tight to even be bothered to pay for some expensive repairs for the rest of the season. So top level management have stepped in imo. Even if Meeke crashed 4 times till the end of the season, got 1 podium and 1 win they'd probably get a hell of a lot more publicity than they will do with Breen, Mads and the Sheikh struggling to break into the top 5 (top 10 in the Sheikhs case).
This is the main point here.
Imo the main error in Citroen team leadership was after Germany last year. Failing to get another driver (Ogier and Mikkelsen were in talks then) and keeping Meeke as the only driver doing all rounds in 2018.
By that time it was 100% clear he won't ever get reliable + fast at the same time.
I guess for 2017 they hoped he would keep 2016 motivation and handle the pressure while one of the two young guys will get to the top.
But he couldn't handle the combination of car issues and pressure to perform. You can argue that Breen turned out well, but he is still not on the very top level.
This brings us back to the start of my post, they did need a different top accomplished driver. One of these: Ogier Neuville, Tanak, Latvala, Mikkelsen... or even Sordo to bring some consistency to the team. Matton said as much after Germany 2017, but looks like Citroen leadership axed it.
Though it was a very bad incident, there weren't any pictures. These days with social media its pictures that go around the world. Pictures like...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdlMqxNU8AAsNYP.jpg
The fact the driver was ok and saved by the car isnt seen, it just looks like 'Citroen's crash and then look like this ...'
Sad for Meeke and all spectators. Everything points to an exit from Citroën at the end of the season, which would be a shame...
Like some of you already said, it’s not the decision but the timing of it that surprises. Obviously sorry for Meeke and Nagle, but mostly hoping this will not mean the end of Citroen WRC involvement after Rally Australia.
The car has been fixed and if Breen manages to win a couple of events this season he can start ’19 as an underdog title contender. Getting a young and fast 2nd driver (Suninen or Tidemand) alongside a reliable experienced guy (Ostberg or Haninen) would be a fantastic full scale Citroen WRC effort next season. Time will tell if I’m just dreaming awake.
Meanwhile, fingers crossed for the Citroen WRC team.
PS: get ready; Brit rally journos crusade against the French manu will be resumed in a few hours…
I think it's smart to look at this situation from all sides.
Sucks for Meeke? Yes!
Sucks for Meeke fans? Yes!
Sucks for Citroen also yes.
Should they keep giving Meeke "a second chance" after so many crashes? No.
Should the headline mention he crashed too many times? No. Does that change the outcome? No.
Should we all just sit back and watch this since we're just fans with little to none value? Fu@k Yes!
Odd timing for this - yes, Meeke has caused a lot of damage, but he's Citroen's only real hope of winning rallies. Why do this now when you have no one who can come in and challenge for victories? It does feel like a damage limitation exercise as they limp towards an end-of-season exit, and it's one less exciting driver in the line up which is a shame for those of us watching. I wonder if Malcolm might find the money to put him in a Fiesta for a couple of events later in the season?
Yes, the journos are part of the problem here too. I hope Citroen stays in the WRC forever. Okay if the make a switch to Peugeot that would be fine too, but losing a manu never helps the sport. Subie and Mitsu leaving in the early days was no good and VW recent departure was crap also.
Lets hope Meeke finds a ride and Citroen stays.
The only other request I have is 4 cars for Toyota in Finland with Juho at the wheel.
did someone actually believed meeke would ever get reliable? he was already known for his crash or win approach when i first saw him in ypres 2009. although he won that rally, i remember him taking a wheel off on the shakedown already.
I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see Citroen being in WRC as works team in 2019... Just like I don't see Breen winning an event without a lucky combination of road position/weather/retirements. They'd really need a top driver.
Good one :D