THE Irish contingent in Rally Estonia, that begins today, has been whittled down to two drivers following the withdrawal of Kris Meeke and his co-driver Paul Nagle in their Mini John Cooper Works WRC.

REIGNING Intercontinental Rally champions, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle in their Peugeot 207 S2000 are sixth overall after the opening leg of three stages of the Sata Rallye Acores, the seventh round of the series.

CHRIS PATTERSON (41) will be the new partner for Norwegian driver Petter Solberg in the World Rally Championship. Early last month, Phil Mills, Solberg’s regular co-driver, stepped down from his role with the flamboyant Norwegian, who has 152 WRC starts including 13 wins and one world title.

DEREK McGARRITY could be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu this weekend as he goes from one circuit to another.