Kris Meeke plans to repeat the pace he showed on day one of Rally d'Italia Sardegna when he restarts on Saturday under SupeRally regulations.
Briton Meeke is giving MINI’s John Cooper Works WRC its world championship debut on the Italian gravel event and was in fourth overall when a throttle glitch caused him to crash into retirement.
Following repairs Meeke and Irish co-driver Paul Nagle will resume their challenge from ninth on the road.
“We’ll just go out, get to the start line of the first stage, find our feet and go again just like we did on Friday,” said the 31-year-old. “There are no tactics to go on a big push or anything like that. We just have to drive and see where we are.”
Meeke was one of several leading drivers to hit trouble on Friday’s demanding stages in the west of the island around the town of Oristano.
“It’s not an easy place to come and learn a new car as it proved but there is a lot more to come,” said Meeke. “I’m not at level where I can lead a rally yet, I have so much to learn but it’s brilliant to know when I haven’t done a rally in seven months, in brand new car, brand new everything that after 40 kilometres we were lying in fourth place.
“It’s doubly frustrating that we had a problem because we had the pace with absolutely no heroics, dramas or anything. I’m just looking forward now to getting kilometres on the car.”
Fifty-eight cars are due to restart on day two, 28 under SupeRally regulations.
Credit: World Rally Championship (www.wrc.com)
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