MOTORSPORT NEWS Rally

Citroen retain Kris Meeke for 2018 campaign

Dungannon driver Kris Meeke has been retained by Citroen for the 2018 World Rally Championship season. Meeke, 38, will compete in the full WRC campaign, leading Citroen’s challenge after a disappointing 2017.

KIris Meeke (Getty Images)

Victories for Meeke in Mexico and Spain highlighted the Citroen C3’s potential and he finished seventh overall.

He will be joined for 10 rounds by Waterford’s Craig Bree and for three by France’s nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb.

Meeke struggled in 2017, crashing out in Monte Carlo, Sweden, Argentina, Italy and Portugal, which led to him being dropped for Rally Poland.

He struggled on his return, finishing eighth in Finland and crashing out on the first stage in Germany before taking three points-scoring finishes to end the year.

“We learned a lot during the first season with the Citroën C3 WRC – we’ve gathered a lot of information to help us do better in 2018,” said Meeke.

“Despite a few tough moments, we managed to show our potential and we are now going to try even harder to be more consistent on the variety of surfaces used in the championship.

“We won’t be taking anything for granted but by working in a relaxed and calm manner, we can achieve good things.”

The first round of the 2018 WRC championship takes place in Monte Carlo at the end of January.

Source: BBC