LOL. I really cannot imagine that, especially as it's an Italian team. I think it is very likely that the team (Metior Sport) made a very cheap price for Meeke, to be able to promote their team/cars. The car was completely rebuilt before the event. It's interesting to note that in Belgium all teams must use the same fuel (
https://gutts.be/product/hiperflo-tu...v2-refuel-brc/), which is Carless Hiperflo. So mapping has to be changed for the fuel they use, maybe it wasn't perfect? However 2 other Metior cars were competing and they both finished without issues. In an interview on stage just after his retirement, Meeke said "we don't know the cause, but it looks like IT has dumped all the water." I think the reason for retirement is broken radiator, which can be caused by some impact. +-2km before he retired, he had this moment (video:
https://www.facebook.com/nathan.blan...7942260528428/) where he went off in a field but was able to continue. He didn't visibly hit something, but in the past we've seen it doesn't take much to perforate or crack a radiator... So the story you heard is almost certainly made up by someone who has a lot of fantasy.