With Peugeot’s Kris Meeke about to pull down the curtain on an illustrious IRC career, the reigning champion talks about bravado driving, the brilliance of racing in Scotland and the lure of Mini.
Morning Kris, how’s the preparation going for Rally Scotland?
Very good actually. We had a good test this morning, and everything went well, we’re looking good.
'I’ve got to say that for me these are the best roads to drive on in the entire world. The sensation of driving them is just something else'
Your on record saying this is your favourite event of the year. Why?
As the crow flies we’re probably only a hundred miles away from my home in Northern Ireland, and I actually spent quite a bit of my younger career living up here near Perth. Colin McRae was mentoring me and I was living at his home, which is only a few miles down the road, so it definitely does feel like a home rally.
But leaving aside the bias and the nationalism, I’ve got to say that for me these are the best roads to drive on in the entire world. The sensation of driving them is just something else. Finland comes very, very close, but for me this is where I grew up and it’s what rallying is all about.
If you had to pick one stage in particular…
Loch Ard, without a doubt. It’s 35km of fast, flowing hard-packed gravel through the woods. On a cold, crisp morning there’s absolutely no other place in the world that can give you sensations quite like that.
There’s a few changes to last year’s route, are they significant?
No, not so much, the differences are very limited. The rally total is about 200kms of which about 120kms are difficult and only seven or eight of those have changed from last year. I’m very comfortable with the route and I’m more than happy my knowledge from last year will carry me through.
Peugeot Press
The stewards took away your win here last year. Are you… annoyed about that?
Aaaah, I don’t know! Things like that are completely out of my control and I tend to concentrate on the things I’m in control of, so I haven’t really given it much thought. In my own mind I won the rally last year, though the history books will say otherwise.
We were excluded because of a part weighing less than one tenth of one per cent different to what it should have been. The overall weight of the car was still legitimate, so we didn’t have a performance gain, so in my head I’m satisfied we did enough to win the event out of the stage.
That said there are rules and regulations and we have to adhere to them. In that instance Peugeot were outside of the rules. There wasn’t any intention to gain an advantage, just a simple oversight in a bit of paperwork. In my head I’m confident that I did my job last year and I’m certain if we do the same job this year, I’ll be able to go home with the trophy.
Last year you were gunning for the IRC championship. When you’re doing that, is it difficult to savour each individual round?
It’s a cliché but I really think you have to take it one step at a time. In rallying, as in any form of motorsport, you sometimes have to look at the smaller picture. For us that’s particularly true at the start of a rally. On those first few stages you have to find out where your pace is at. There’s a fine art to seeing if your rhythm is right, if your car set-up is correct and whether you have the tools to win. Later on in the rally you might start to look at the bigger picture of the championship: if you can win, you still want to make hay while the sun shines, but if you can’t win, then maybe you consider the championship and try to figure out what the best you can realistically hope to achieve is, rather than over-driving.
Why has this year been so much more difficult?
The simple answer is that the other guys – and in particular the Skodas – have really, really upped their game! Their times on certain rallies – rallies where we’re doing identical stages to last year – are one second per kilometre quicker, which is a massive, massive step. I don’t think the development has been there in our car to make that step, and I’ve had to try to make the difference myself.
Last year everything was incredibly smooth, it was a near-perfect year in which everything was right. We would start events knowing we had the pace to win, we would have a good lead at the midpoint and be able to consolidate our lead and defend our position to the end.
Now we’re finding ourselves at midpoint in an event having really stuck our necks out in the first half, only to be hanging onto a podium place. We’re then trying to squeeze something extra out in the second half of the event, and that’s where things go wrong: either through mechanical problems or me making a mistake.
Peugeot Press
Basically the pace of the championship has moved on and we haven’t moved along at the same rate – but motorsport is all about evolution and this is the way it’s supposed to be. We’re not a million miles away but this year I’ve definitely found myself having to drive beyond my limit to try to keep up – whereas last year 98-99 per cent was enough to give me an advantage and then let us back off towards the end of a rally.
Is having to over-drive a rally car thrilling or terrifying?
Aaah, hmmm… Rallying is quite different to circuit racing because to define the limit in a rally car on a narrow mountain stage with rocks either side and every single corner presenting a new challenge… you need a lot of experience to determine where that limit is. In circuit racing you might dip a wheel in the gravel trap and go on your way. Here it’s lights-out once you put a wheel a millimetre over the line.
That said, there’s something inside me that wants to win. You want to beat the clock, you want to finish ahead of everybody else. It’s difficult in the heat of battle to stop yourself going beyond the limit. But in this game the moment you step over the limit, it’s gone.
But, the thing is I’m a bit of a bravado driver and sometimes I will push on beyond the limit – but what every driver wants is a car underneath him which allows you to set the good times without doing that. Obviously it isn’t always possible.
'I’d really love to see Mark Webber do it. I like his attitude – he’s got that typical Aussie no-bullshit approach y’know?'
Changing disciplines, who’s your tip for the F1 World Championship?
I’d really love to see Mark Webber do it. I like his attitude – he’s got that typical Aussie no-bullshit approach y’know? And I’d love to see him pull it off, and it’s shaping up quite nicely at the moment for him, but hopefully the two Red Bulls will pull away and fight it out between themselves. This championship has been fantastic though. I’m a big fan of MotoGP too, but this year F1 has been really, really compelling.
And how about your move into WRC with Mini next year. Excited?
Oh yes, absolutely. Everything about it feels right. It’s such an iconic brand, and did so many great things in rallying back in the 60s – and of course the chance to follow in the footsteps of my countryman Paddy Hopkirk is absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t be more excited…
Comments
Add a comment