McRae still hopeful he can catch Meeke

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 22:53

NEWLY-CROWNED champion Kris Meeke, already a four-time winner this season, emphasised his supremacy in the Intercontinental Rally Championship when he delivered a masterful drive in the treacherous final stage as the Rally of Scotland continued yesterday.

The 30-year-old from Dungannon conquered the muddy and slippery 11-miles of Craigvinean in his Peugeot S2000 to post a time 15.1secs faster than his nearest challenger, Alister McRae.

"I think I could have gone even quicker," Meeke admitted immediately after completing the stage in darkness. "We had a problem with the headlights, which were set too low and I couldn't see into the distance.

"Still, we were fast enough to increase our lead. There's still six stages to be negotiated tomorrow, but I'll certainly sleep well tonight."

Meeke takes a relatively healthy 21.2s lead ahead of the Skoda of Darlington's Guy Wilks into today's stages in the Trossachs. McRae is a further 57s adrift in third overall, but the Scot isn't ruling out the win.

"Sure it's a bit of a gap, but anything is possible in rallying," the 38-year-old former British champion said.

"I know Saturday's stages won't be so muddy. They'll be much, much faster and if we get our act together I'm confident we can close the gap on the two guys in front."

Meanwhile, 2009 Scottish rally champion, 22-year-old David Bogie, lies fifth in his GpN Mitsubishi Evo IX.

"I said before the rally started that my aim was to get through the first day, and that's what we've done," said Bogie.