Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle forced out of Monte Carlo rally

Having provided world rally champions with a robust challenge, the Irish crew of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen DS3 WRC) were forced to retire from Rallye Monte Carlo on Saturday afternoon. Justifying Citroen’s faith in their ability, Meeke/Nagle were the only crew to match the performance of Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (VW Polo WRC), who were able to ease off and claim victory following the demise of their rivals.

Yesterday, Ogier, who also netted top bonus points from the Power Stage to clinch his third straight victory in Monte Carlo, finished a minute and 54.5 seconds ahead of his team mate Andreas Mikkelsen. Despite transmission trouble, Belgian driver Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 WRC) took third – a minute and 23.4 seconds further behind.

Just 9.5 seconds behind Ogier and running fourth car on the road Meeke lost further ground on Saturday’s opening stage as he had to cope with dirt pulled onto the road by the preceding four cars. Meeke/Nagle won S.S. 11 and cut the deficit by 3.4 seconds but things went awry on the very next stage. On a right-hand bend their Citroen encountered a large bedrock that had come loose and ripped the sump guard. Although they made it to the stage finish they bowed out due to the damage caused to the gearbox and the intercooler. Meanwhile, Jari Matti Latvala retired his VW Polo WRC on S.S. 11 with front left suspension damage. With no Rally2 service available for competitors retiring on Saturday neither could re-join the rally for yesterday’s final three stages. Overnight, Ogier led Mikkelsen by almost two minutes.