RALLY PORTUGAL 2014

Killarney co-driver Paul Nagle resumes his World Rally Championship campaign alongside his Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team teamamte Kris Meeke on this weekend’s Rally de Portugal.
Paul has competed on this rally once before alongside Dublin driver Gareth MacHale. They finished 13th in 2007. Although Meeke has already taken part in 43 World Championship events, he will be making his first appearance at Rally de Portugal. Like in Sweden and Mexico , earlier in the season , the Northern Irishman is aiming to add to his experience.

“Yet more new stages for me!” said Kris. “It looks like it will be a very interesting rally. After Mexico, driving the Citroën DS3 WRC in testing helped to boost my confidence. At sea level, the car has significantly more power and there is a lot more grip on this type of road surface.”

Quick in Mexico, Meeke and Nagle showed they were capable of matching the pace of the leaders on gravel: “After speaking with the team, I know that this rally can be particularly complicated. For my first appearance here, it won’t be easy. I feel a little bit frustrated after Mexico. I need to rack up more miles in the car and that will be my main objective in Portugal. If I can keep out of trouble then inevitably, the result will look after itself. What I need is to be consistent. Our last test sessions went really very well and I felt very comfortable in the Citroën DS3 WRC.”
They will start number seven on the road in line with their current World Rally Championship position. The event gets underway on Thursday evening with a super special in Lisbon ahead of three more days of competition near The Algarve.

International

Paul Nagle and his Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Kris Meeke were very unlucky not to make the finish of Rally Mexico, the third round the World Rally Championship at the weekend.

However they took some consolation from the event by posting their first-ever fastest stage time of their world rally careers.

The Kerry/ Tyrone pairing endured an event of highs and lows. It was Meeke’s first visit to the Latin American country, Killarney man, Nagle has been there twice before alongside Irish driver Gareth MacHale, and they vowed before the rally that were not going to take and unnecessary risks and were aiming for a top ten finish.

Despite their lack of experience on Friday’s opening loop they were running in the top five – surprising, but nonetheless deserving.

That first leg was above all else the chance to learn about the specific features of the Mexican event. Initially cautious, the Northern Irishman found the right level of pace and managed to move into fourth position without taking any risks.

However on day two on On Las Minas stage (SS8), he broke part of the suspension on his car after hitting a rock.

The Irish crew elected to withdraw their Citroen DS3 World Rally Car from the rally to allow team mechanics to repair the damage and rejoin under SuperRally rules for Sunday’s leg.

As a result they were, in line with championship rules, running first on the road , the worst possible position on a gravel rally.

On the final stage of the rally they hit a hidden rock and damaged the steering and suspension on their car, forcing retirement.

Meeke said: I feel like I have made a huge amount of progress in terms of understanding the Citroën DS3 WRC and the pace to adopt in the stages. It’s very disappointing not to finish the rally. On the Power Stage, I had good pace notes and I was on the right line, but I hit a rock on the inside of a corner. I was first on the road, so I couldn’t avoid it. Not making it to the finish is very frustrating even if there are lot of positives that take away from this rally.

However despite the non finish they did top the time sheets on Saturday by winning stage 18  to move up into ninth position in the overall standings.

Meek said: The stages are really complicated when you haven’t experienced them before. You have to find the right rhythm. The roads are slippery with some very narrow, twisty sections. I was struggling to feel confident on the first pass. We are doing everything for the first time, which is part and parcel of the learning process. Once you’re more familiar with the stages, everything is a lot more straightforward. So, the feeling was a lot better this afternoon and I think you can see that in the times.

National

Meanwhile both Darren Young / Sean Walsh and PJ Dowd/John Young scored class wins on Sunday’s Mayo Stages in Ballina. The Kerry Motor Club crews were driving a Honda Civic and a Talbot Sunbeam respectively. Killarney’s Damian Fleming was the highest place Kerry co-driver in the event – he guided Brian Armstrong to 27th in the Down man’s Escort.

INTERNATIONAL

KILARNEY co-driver Paul Nagle and his Tyrone driver Kris Meeke resume their World Rally Championship bid on this weekend’s Rally Mexico.

The event represents a new challenge for the Irish Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally team crew. Set in the Sierra de Lobos and the Sierra de Guanajuato, the rally climbs to the highest point of the WRC season, reaching a peak of some 2,736 metres above sea level where cars will suffer from down on power engines due to the altitude.

After the tarmac of Monte Carlo, where the Irish team finished third and the snow and ice of Sweden the crews are now preparing for the first gravel rally of the season which gets underway on Thursday of this week.

Meeke has has never competed n Mexico before, unlike Nagle, who competed in León in 2006 and 2007 alongside Dublin driver Gareth MacHale.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
Citroën WRC 2013 – Rallye du Mexique – Best of by citroenracing[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]”It won’t be the same as in the last rally, where I had to get used to driving on snow,” said Kris.

This time, it’s on gravel and so it should be a lot simpler because I already have a fair bit of experience on this surface. But Mexico requires a very different set-up. I have worked on the videos and have listened carefully to advice from the team. I still have some learning to do, but I’m pleased with the set-up that we found in testing. The drop in power output could be an advantage for me because I have a lot of experience of competing in cars with normally-aspirated engines. You need a slightly different driving style and so that shouldn‘t be problem for me. I’ll be concentrating on my own race. I know that I’ll have a good starting position for the long first day. The aim is to score as many points as we can on the overseas events. I’d be pleased with top five finish.

Meek and Nagle arrive in Mexico holding seventh position in the series in their Citroen DS3 World Rally Car. The manufactures element of the championship is being led by Volkswagen and there is plenty of Kerry interest in that squad too as Firies man Richard Browne is a mechanic with the team.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

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NATIONAL

On the home front, the Dunlop National Rally Championship gets underway on Sunday with the Mayo Stages Rally. There are several Kerry crews on the entry list, with Maynooth-based Ballyduff man Kevin Barrett the fifth seed in his Subaru Impreza WRC S14.

Kilorglin crew Fergus O’Meara and Mikey Galvin are attempting the National series for the first time in their Ford Escort, while the Tralee crew of PJ O’Dowd and John Young will be hoping to add the National Historic Rally title to the Top Part West Coast series they won last year.

Current Dunlop Junior champion Rob Duggan and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan Jr step up to the championship proper this year in their Honda Civic.

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