Kris Meeke will not drive for Citroen Racing at Rally Poland, with the Irishman pushed aside for the next round of the WRC for new team-mate, Andreas Mikkelsen.
Citroen have run out of patience with the crash-prone Kris Meeke.\A team statement said: “Looking at the fortunes of the team at this seventh round, clearly the results vary from one crew to the next. Â
“Before the start, we asked our drivers to make it to the end of the rally. I don't think we were wrong to think that if they managed to do that, we would end up with two cars in the top five," explained Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal.
"Unfortunately, Kris was unable to adopt the pace required to have an error-free race. After the opening stages, he felt comfortable in the car and said that his pace was consistent with the targets set.
“Clearly, he has failed to maintain it. The team is already focused on the next event: Rally Poland (29 June – 2 July). Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT will be entering C3 WRCs in Poland for Craig Breen/Scott Martin, Stéphane Lefebvre/Gabin Moreau and Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger. Â
“We have asked Kris Meeke to take a step back for this next rally. Kris accepted that this would be in the best interests of the team and we'd like to thank him for his understanding.
“This break will give him the chance to recharge his batteries and release some of the pressure before preparing for Rally Finland. He won in Finland last year after producing a perfect performance, so we hope he'll come back stronger.
“At the same time, this change in line-up means we can keep working with Andreas. This first experience was more like a test session than a proper competitive outing.
“A second rally will give him the chance to use the things he has already learned to get closer to the leading guys. Moreover, he is particularly fond of Rally Poland since he won the event last year."
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- Martin Holmes
READ Martin Holmes' thoughts on the Meeke 'resting' in his exclusive RallySport Magazine comment.
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