Cautious Wales Rally GB Start for MINI WRC

Day One of Wales Rally GB may only have been made up of three stages and 25.25 kilometres of competition, but it proved tough for some drivers.
However, the MINI WRC Team drivers, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle and Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio, took it steadily and at the overnight halt in Llandudno,were fifth and sixth respectively.
Right from the word go on the first two stages over Llandudno's Great Orme tarmac roads, Sordo and Meeke were extremely cautious. Even though the weather was bright and sunny, the stage was slippery and caught out Sebastien Ogier who ripped a wheel off his Citroen 1.6 kilometres into the stage.
On this first stage Sordo was the quicker of the two MINIs by 0.8secs, and then on stage two it was Meeke by 0.9secs. Therefore as they left the tarmac and headed to the first forest stage in Clocaenog Meeke was fifth and Sordo sixth overall with 0.1secs separating them. Then on stage three, run over 15.77 kilometres of gravel, it was Meeke who was quickest and, at the end of the day was 8.6secs ahead of his team-mate.
The two MINI John Cooper Works WRCs were displaying the logos of "Paint it Orange", a campaign being run by the Richard Burns Foundation with all the proceeds benefiting the charity's work in brain injury and illness. This event marks the tenth anniversary of Richard Burns' World title.
Wales Rally GB starts again on Friday with the first 12.7 mile stage at 07:33 at Gartheiniog, the day finishing at Builth Wells Service area at 18:03.

11th November, 2011