Trier, Germany: Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT driver Kris Meeke crashed out of Rally Germany following a pace-note mistake and in the process lost the top spot on the podium on Sunday.
Meeke, driving a Citroen DS3 WRC, shot into the lead of the rally after the leader also crashed out in a vineyard section about 14km after the start of the opening 18.03km Dhrontal stage. This left Meeke with an 8.4 sec lead over Thierry Neuville, but the Irishman crashed into a wall early in the following Grafschaft stage, ripping the rear left wheel from his Citroën.
It was obviously a huge disappointment for Meeke, who was in a strong position to pick up full points. The consolation for Citroën though is that second driver, Mads Ostberg, finished inside the points in sixth overall.
Meanwhile, in the feeder WRC 3 series, Abu Dhabi Racing junior driver Mohammad Al Mutawaa who was making steady progress also crashed out of the rally at exactly the same stage that took out Meeke.
Al Mutawaa said: “I was pushing a bit extra in order to test the limits in damp conditions … and I lost it.
“Nevertheless, this has been a huge learning curve for me and great experience in different conditions — dry and wet — and it will surely serve me well in the future. I want to thank Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qasimi, chairman of Abu Dhabi Racing, for giving me this opportunity. I’m now looking forward to the next round in October in Spain.”
