With their Citroen DS3 WRC armed with several significant upgrades to the engine, suspension, aerodynamics and gearbox, the Irish crew of Meeke and Paul Nagle expect to be fighting for the leading places on Rallye Monte Carlo that cranks into gear this evening.

Irish rally ace Keith Cronin is set to relaunch his World Rally Championship career behind the wheel of a Citroen DS3 R5 in the WRC2 category next season.

Over terrain that will be relatively familiar, Keith Cronin knows that any advantage he can accrue over Frenchman, Sebastien Chardonnet will be a bonus as they go head to head for the most lucrative prize within the WRC3 feeder category of the World Rally Championship.

Even with three British Rally Championship titles under his belt, Keith Cronin had not been able to progress his career due to a lack of funding.

Sebastien Loeb wrapped up his ninth consecutive World Rally Championship title in style with victory on home soil in France today.