Q&A with Kris Meeke

After two stages of Rally d’Italia Sardegna Kris Meeke held fourth place overall. But an accident on the next stage quickly extinguished any hopes of a fairy tale debut for MINI’s John Cooper Works WRC.

What did it feel like prior to the start of your first event with MINI?

“With all the build up and excitement I thought I’d be nervous, but when I woke up this morning I was calm and relaxed, this was because of the preparation beforehand.”

And what about the first stage - how did you feel it went?

“I thought we were slow. We were neat and tidy but we set a surprisingly good time. We knew at the end of the stage that the car was working.”

Did this change your approach for stage two?

“Stage two uses more traditional Sardinian roads. We therefore thought we weren’t so committed going into corners, yet we came out of the stage third fastest. The car felt very, very good.”

You reported a problem after going off on stage three. When did this develop?

“We noticed there was an issue when we first left service this morning. On the road section on the way to the first stage we developed a throttle issue. It would not lift off or release immediately. Throughout the day it got gradually worse, then on stage three we approached a fast fifth gear corner into a fifth gear right and when I released the throttle I had no engine braking. We went over the marble and down the bank. I was shouting to Paul [Nagle] “the throttle!”

What damage was done to the car?

“Not a lot. We hit a small shrub or tree, which took the wheel off. There is no structural damage and we should get out again tomorrow.”

If you were to summarise your day what would you say?

“The were 99 positives and one little negative. I was really pleased with the speed. We were only one second off third after stage two and that’s incredible.”

Only you and Sebastien Loeb took the same line through the corner where Jari-Matti Latvala crashed on stage one. Is that your driving style or the style of the MINI?

“That’s my driving style. From looking at data, Dani [Sordo] and I have a very different approach. I keep the car a lot more straight than Dani. I got a ride with Loeb at Goodwood a few years ago and he told me not to change my driving style, so it’s a style I’ve been developing since 2009.”