Meeke gets factory Citroen seat for Australia

Kris Meeke will get another chance in a Citroen DS3 WRC in a month's time when he takes over Dani Sordo's works car on the Coates hire Rally Australia.

Further drives in a DS3 WRC this year for Meeke were already being rumoured before Khalid Al-Qassimi dropped a rather large hint over Twitter, saying:

Meeke in Finland

“Chances may come & go, yet Kris deserves them - that's how he'll grow. @krismeeke to you and all your fans I'm thinking of another chance.”

Later, speaking to Gulf News, he said: “Kris did an excellent job and I wasn’t surprised. He was up there with Mikko and much quicker than Dani, and he’s given us a lot to think about. Our first priority is to get the best we can out of our drivers for the rest of the season, and we need to be on the podium. But already we’re looking ahead to next season, and Kris could get more chances.”

Al-Qassimi jumped to Meeke's defence on the subject of the Dungannon man rolling the DS3 WRC just two stages from home in Finland. “He’s a very good driver, that’s why we picked him. We considered several drivers, but decided Kris would be the best choice and he proved us right. It was just unfortunate that he didn’t get the finish he deserved. I really felt for him, especially as I rolled in the same car in the Acropolis Rally.” he said.

Kris Meeke

Now Meeke will get another chance, replacing a lackluster Sordo. The Spaniard has been enduring a less than fruitful return to Citroen, after two years away at MINI. He currently lies fifth in the Driver's Championship, only one point ahead of Sebastian Loeb, who has only competed on three events so far this year.

“Kris showed what he could do in Finland with an excellent performance and high motivation levels. So we instinctively turned to him to take over in Australia.” said Managing Director of Citroen Racing, Yves Matton.

Meeke himself added: “For us, this is an incredible opportunity to take part in the rally as part of Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team alongside Mikko [Hirvonen] and Jarmo [Lehtinen], and we are determined to give of our best.”

Photo credit: Citroen WRT