Meeke won’t rule out future IRC return

Former Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Kris Meeke has said he wouldn’t rule out returning to the series in the future.

Meeke, who claimed the 2009 IRC crown on the back of four victories, has completed his two-year stint in the IRC with the Kronos Racing-run Peugeot UK squad.

He said: “You never know for the future. For now my focus is with MINI and their programme in the world championship. I’ve had a great time in the IRC but this is going to be a new and exciting project and an opportunity to play a part in a major development programme.

“It’s fair to say I would not have the opportunity I have now without the IRC. It was a breath of fresh air for me. It’s a big step from a national championship but not so big that you can’t be competitive. The cars are the same specification and we’ve seen on events where you have 26 Super 2000 cars and at least 10 of them are genuinely capable of winning. It’s highly, highly competitive.”

Meeke finished third in the 2010 IRC standings, winning Rally Internacional de Curitiba in Brazil in the process.