REACTION TO MEEKE BEING SACKED
Sebastien Loeb “I don’t think they can win the championship with him [Meeke], but also they cannot win the championship without him. For sure, he crashed a lot, but why [did they sack him] now, I don’t know? I’m not the boss of Citroen, so I can’t say if I would have taken this decision or not.” Petter Solberg
“I would never have done this in the middle of the season, I don’t think that’s good for the team. Kris gave everything he could, he gave his best for the team. Of course he was pushing and maybe he was pushing a little bit more than what the car was actually capable of. When I looked to the car after Portugal, it was almost as bad as my car after I crashed in Germany [in 2004].” Marcus Gronholm
“He has been driving for a lot of years, but he is making some mistakes and having some big crashes. He can be quick on one rally, but then on the next one it’s boom, boom, boom. The car looked really bad after this one. I think Citroen got a little bit scared. It’s not nice for him and I’m sure comes as a shock, but you know the manufacturers, they can’t afford this kind of thing anymore.” Dani Sordo via Twitter “All my support in these hard times friend. You are strong and sure the best is coming.” Carlos del Barrio via Twitter “It’s been an honour to compete against Kris & Paul. It was also great to be his team-mate in 2011. Whatever result you collect, it is more valuable if Kris & Paul are your contenders, basically because they’re the definition of braveness & speed. All the best in the future, buddies.” Lorenzo Bertelli via Twitter “You will be missed for this @Officialwrc season @krismeeke @paulnagle1. You didn’t deserve this treatment. I’m pretty sure you’ll be back in the future… Good luck guy” Opens&tightens
“You WERE my heroes. You ARE my heroes. You WILL always BE my heroes (whatever happens in
the future) I don’t care what they say, you belong to the Olympus of rallying. Period.” @Drinkbeverage via Twitter “The outrage over the #Krismeeke decision at #Citroenracing is getting a bit out of hand. Fans are acting like he’s been cut down in his prime and that it’s akin to firing Mcrae, but he’s 38 and his crashes were far too frequent for a top-line driver in an underfunded factory team” @Eightmike via Twitter “Dear Kris, I’m French I don’t agree with the move of Citroen Sport. I was at the last control of the Sanremo where you won the ERC [IRC] Title. I know you are an excellent driver. Citroen is stupid. You are NOT the problem, the C3 is the matter. All the best Kris” John Lakey
“Kris can display blinding speed but it rarely comes without an off of some sort, even a minor one; which loses all the time that speed has gained him. When you are driving for a team that employed the super-consistent Loeb, patience will run out. It’s a shame because he seems like a top bloke and is certainly exciting to watch, but I was surprised when he came back from being benched. “He reminds me a bit of [Nigel] Mansell: he has the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and in a modern world that approach cannot be tolerated unless the driver wins 10 rallies and crashes in one. Not wins one and crashes in six or seven.”