Rallye Charlemagne (France) - 6-7 July '01

Posted: July 11, 2001 5:21 PM

1. Kris Meeke Rallying
by Barry Meeke

Another event has past, and Kris is still waiting to get off the mark in the Peugeot 106 Championship. The Rallye Charlemange proved that no matter how well prepared you are, things can still go wrong.

After two stages and nearly forty kilometers of Leg 1, Kris was happy with his position. "We had a good clean run through this evenings stages. We just wanted to start Saturday on an evening footing, as our starting position of 81 meant that we were finishing the last stage on the edge of dark. Third has given us a good road position for tomorrow."

Indeed, only 6 seconds covered the top three competitors. Ryan Champion set the early pace, closely followed by Rory Galligan and Kris.
A thirteen-kilometer stage greeted the competitors for the start of Leg 2, but the expected charge from young Meeke did not materialize. "I am devastated. I had planned to drive at my own pace, knowing that the rally was going to won or lost on the tyre gambles throughout the day. Less than a kilometer from the end of stage three, I misjudged a makeshift chicane and just clipped the front wheel on a straw bale. We broke the steering arm, which consequently damaged the drive shaft. It was totally my fault. Some people said we were unlucky, but I believe that you make your own luck."

"We can only do one thing from here, lift our heads and move onto the next event. We can console ourselves with the fact that we have the pace to compete for the win, but we need to ensure that we get a result." "The Swansea Bay Rally is just two weeks away, on the 21st of July. Like most people, it will be the first gravel rally of the year and I can't wait. My knowledge of the surface is limited, but I can't see it being a problem."

www.krismeeke.com

2. Rory Galligan - BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT FOR GALLIGAN IN FRANCE
by Claire Walsh

After a two month gap the Peugeot Super 106 Cup finally restarted when over 30 crews travelled to France to compete in the Rally Charlemagne. Billy Coleman award winner Rory Galligan was hoping to add another good result to his previous win on the season opener, the Rally of the Wirral.
The rally began late Friday evening with 2 stages, one of which was over 15 miles. Here Rory established a steady pace and finished the day in 2nd place only 2 seconds behind Ryan Champion and closely followed by the young Dungannon driver, Kris Meeke.

Day two consisted of four different, stages, all of which were run three times over the day which involved over 13 hours of competition. The day began well for Rory and he took the lead on stage 3. In changing weather conditions the Meath driver swopped fastest times with Champion throughout the day.

However on stage 8 the black 106 developed an engine problem which caused Rory to drop back. After this the heavy rain caused trouble for the field and Rory suffered a puncture on stage 9, which cost him over 3½ minutes.

Unfortunately stage 11 brought an end to Rory's challenge when he crashed heavily whilst avoiding a spectator who had fallen on the road in front of him, this spectator had been helping a French competitor to regain the road after he had slid off minutes before Rory arrived. This was a bitter blow for Rory who was challenging for a top position which would have seen him keep his lead in the championship. The next round takes place in just two weeks when the Peugeot Super 106 Cup heads for Swansea.