Kris Meeke had to retire from the World Rally Championship’s Rallye Monte Carlo for an incredibly stupid reason: his Citroën C3 WRC got hit by another car when it wasn’t even racing, reports Autosport. This is Meeke’s second crash of the weekend after breaking his suspension Friday after skidding off the road.
Rally cars have to be licensed for road use, as they have transit sections between fast-paced rally stages and various service areas along the route. Unfortunately, this means you have to contend with all the regular drivers out on the road, too.
One such driver hit Kris Meeke’s Citroën C3 World Rally Championship car as Meeke was driving from the Gap service park into the rally base in Monaco Saturday evening.
Citroën team principal Yves Matton was predictably annoyed when he described the incident in a Citroën press release:
We’ve only just started to use the car and the miles covered will help us to add to our knowledge, both with regard to the next few rallies and the 2018 Rallye Monte-Carlo. After the efforts made, it’s tough to see Kris retire for such a stupid reason.
The “stupid” incident damaged Meeke’s right rear wheel badly enough that he had to retire from the rally.
Despite encountering ignition failure on Stage 10 in his brand-new C3 WRC, Meeke had been the third fastest car on Stage 13.
Competitors with badly damaged vehicles are sometimes allowed to restart with a fixed car and a five-minute time penalty under Rally 2 rules, however, there is no Rally 2 for Sunday, per the WRC. There is no service ahead of Sunday’s final stage, either. Meeke’s rally is over.