Kris Meeke leaves WRC

Yes, he does come across as a bit stroppy in that interview.
However, to quit must mean that his heart is no longer in it.

I really thought the Red Bull sponsorship was his trump card but it didnt work out that way. Red Bull seem half interested in rallying in terms of the money and commitment they will put in.

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Originally Posted by Lousada

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.

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Your 'junior shoeboxes' are a heck of a lot harder to keep on the road than WRC or GpA 4WDs, retirement rates are high in JWRC across the board, these cars are more fragile and run in worse road conditions

I think Meeke has every right to bitch. 90% of the people on this forum only know a fraction of all the bullsh!t that goes on behind the scenes, including myself.

i wonder if he kept the relationship going with colin would that have brought in the money required, who knows but it`s still a loss, lets hope he gets some cash sorted from a kind benefactor

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Originally Posted by sal

Not meant to be a slur on the Spanish or Norweigans at all, far from it. I know the state of the Spanish series from reading Todo Rallyes magazine. What i meant is that there seems to be people interested in helping drivers in those countries develop be it through financial backing in some cases or lobbying teams to give thier guys seats. In the UK the RACMSA has paid lip service to developing drivers and the Rally Elite programme helps but it stops well short of putting money in to help buy seats. We've had two PWRC champions and a couple of drivers Meeke and Wilkes who can rightly be counted as in the top few young drivers in the world and what will we have in 07? Zero presence apart from Matt Wilson who is some way off reaching the top level. And then as a country we wonder why rallying has an all time low profile compared to the heady days of the late 90s with Mcrae and Burns.

If Kris ends up doing the BRC in 07 it will be a complete tragedy for him.

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I see your point...
It's curious to see how England has a great rallying heritage, with drivers, a strong championship, many teams based there.. etc but the drivers get no aid at all.

Anyway... it's a shame a talent like Chris is leaving.

It's better to drive something than nothing. As i read the interview it's clear he didn't take the hand from the Red Bull team because he thinks it leads to nothing. Complete bull**** this, you learn always specially because it's a 4wd in stead of a 2wd where he was driving the previous years. And another point, if he beats Aigner the whole season and Red Bull sponsered again maybe a WRC team (like 2006) his place in the team was almost secured. Really stupid move because there so many (good & fast) drivers out there without a seat. Anybody know which driver had taken the second seat in the Red Bull team?

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Originally Posted by jacko

It's better to drive something than nothing. As i read the interview it's clear he didn't take the hand from the Red Bull team because he thinks it leads to nothing. Complete bull**** this, you learn always specially because it's a 4wd in stead of a 2wd where he was driving the previous years. And another point, if he beats Aigner the whole season and Red Bull sponsered again maybe a WRC team (like 2006) his place in the team was almost secured. Really stupid move because there so many (good & fast) drivers out there without a seat. Anybody know which driver had taken the second seat in the Red Bull team?

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jacko... did you miss the bit where is cost 300.000 euros?

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Originally Posted by Buzz Lightyear

jacko... did you miss the bit where is cost 300.000 euros?

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yes, i didn't read it in the interview. If it's true and he has no money, than it's still be a strange look at the situation. To drive a year with 4wd helps you with more xperience and staying involved in the world championship, look at Manfrred Stohl, he had done many years with a Group N car and suddenly there was the moment in 2005 where he drove 12 rounds with a WRCar. Sometimes you're lucky and things goes very quickly (like Sordo, Hirvonen and Atkinson) and sometimes you must be patient (like Gronhölm, Stohl). In the past we saw many fast drivers suddenly in factory cars, sometimes they set very good times and nowadays there gone.
I think Meeke will comeback about this crying, he's too young for his reaction.

have we had any comment from colin, as he is his protege aswell...?
would be a blow for mcrae too, because he obviously intended that meeke would where colin left his mark in the wrc.

i think if the MSA did what other national motorsport boddies as a previous writer mentioned, i think meeke 1st off would be an even better driver now with proper funding for training etc, and would have secured a decent 07 drive...IF the MSA were any good...

unfortunately its almost useless