Post by Will on Dec 22, 2008 18:50:42 GMT
British driver Kris Meeke, a former protege of the late Colin McRae, is to compete on the IRC series next year in a Peugeot 207 S2000 entered by Peugeot UK and run by the championship-winning Kronos Racing team.
Meeke, who is a proven winner in the Junior World Rally Championship, will contest all the rounds of the series co-driven by his fellow Irishman Paul Nagle.
Marc Van Dalen, who runs the Kronos Racing outfit that took Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz to the IRC drivers' title this year, believes that Meeke has all the capability to challenge for the IRC honours in 2009.
"For sure Kris will be a strong title contender next year," said Van Dalen - who also ran Sebastien Loeb to the 2006 World Rally Championship drivers' title in 2006. "Nobody can question his speed so we will do everything possible to make him into the complete package."
Meeke too is looking forward to his first full season of the IRC in a car that is the class of the field: "I've never driven an S2000 machine before, but I hear that they are great fun to drive," he said.
"You have to be quite assertive with them, and I think that this should suit my driving style. Obviously I come into the championship with a lot less experience of the events compared to some of the other drivers but I can only do my best and that's definitely what I'm going to be doing."
The Irishman, aged 29, hopes to test his new Peugeot before the Monte Carlo Rally, which begins the IRC season from January 21-24.
Meanwhile, the Monte Carlo Rally will get an unprecedented six hours of live television coverage from the stages on Eurosport - including uninterrupted live broadcasts from the four mythical Col du Turini stages that conclude the event.
Meeke, who is a proven winner in the Junior World Rally Championship, will contest all the rounds of the series co-driven by his fellow Irishman Paul Nagle.
Marc Van Dalen, who runs the Kronos Racing outfit that took Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz to the IRC drivers' title this year, believes that Meeke has all the capability to challenge for the IRC honours in 2009.
"For sure Kris will be a strong title contender next year," said Van Dalen - who also ran Sebastien Loeb to the 2006 World Rally Championship drivers' title in 2006. "Nobody can question his speed so we will do everything possible to make him into the complete package."
Meeke too is looking forward to his first full season of the IRC in a car that is the class of the field: "I've never driven an S2000 machine before, but I hear that they are great fun to drive," he said.
"You have to be quite assertive with them, and I think that this should suit my driving style. Obviously I come into the championship with a lot less experience of the events compared to some of the other drivers but I can only do my best and that's definitely what I'm going to be doing."
The Irishman, aged 29, hopes to test his new Peugeot before the Monte Carlo Rally, which begins the IRC season from January 21-24.
Meanwhile, the Monte Carlo Rally will get an unprecedented six hours of live television coverage from the stages on Eurosport - including uninterrupted live broadcasts from the four mythical Col du Turini stages that conclude the event.