Champion Meeke aims for glory in Scotland

The newly-crowned winner of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), Kris Meeke, is looking forward to putting the icing on the cake when competing on home soil this November in the inaugural RACMSA Rally of Scotland. With the IRC Drivers' Championship title now in the bag and Scotland being the only event remaining on the calendar, Meeke has just one goal remaining - to end the year with victory on his home event.

When asked about the challenges of the Rally of Scotland, Kris Meeke commented: "There are some classic and rugged stages to overcome. The weather could also be a factor as it may well be challenging in this part of the world come November. For spectators the sound of these cars in the forests will be fantastic and there are lots of great vantage points."

Meeke is particularly looking forward to stages Drummond Hill, near Kenmore and Errochty near Pitlochry which he says require a great deal of commitment. When asked about the challenges offered by the Scottish stages, Meeke said: "They are generally fast and flowing in nature, but with some tricky narrow sections meaning that you have to retain maximum concentration at all times. The deep ditches at the side of the road will be something to watch out for and tightening corners over blind crescents, therefore creating the possibility of picking up punctures."

He concluded by commenting on how the UK spectators differ from those elsewhere around the world: "The Scottish fans are always enthusiastic as evidenced by the fantastic turn-out at last year's 'Colin McRae Forest Stages' and are also amongst the most knowledgeable in the world."

9th October, 2009