Kris Meeke

Nationality British

Born July 2, 1979 (age 32)
World Rally Championship record
Active years 2002–present
Teams Peugeot - Mini
Rallies 41 (as of 9th June 09)
Championships 0
Rally wins 0
Podiums 0
Stage wins 0
Total points 0
First rally 2002 Rally GB

Kris Meeke (born 2 July 1979) is a professional rally driver. He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His current co-driver is Paul Nagle. He originally began his career as a Computer Aided Designer with M-Sport, at the headquarters of the Ford World Rally Team, before moving on to competing in the Peugeot Super 106 Cup in 2001.
For 2011 Meeke will be competing in the World Rally Championship (WRC) driving a MINI for Prodrive. His first event will be the Rally d'Italia Sardegna which will be held between 5–8 May.
Meeke, who was born in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, educated at The Royal School Dungannon, and later went on to study at Queen's University in Belfast where he obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He initially worked for M-Sport as a Computer Aided Designer. He took his first step into rallying in 2000, when he won a Peugeot competition for new rally drivers. His debut event was the Bulldog Rally held in North Wales, even leading the event for a time. After mixed results, his first victory came on the third round of the 2001 Peugeot Super 106 Cup, the Swansea Bay Festival National Rally.
In early 2002, Meeke's career was boosted when he was taken under the wing of the late Colin McRae and contested the British Junior Championship in a Ford Puma. In June, Meeke won in his category in the Scottish Rally after a calculated drive overseen by McRae, and took second on the Jim Clark Rally, his first full tarmac event. Third position in the final round of the series was however enough for Kris to claim the British Junior Rally Championship title in only his second season in the sport, as well as third in the British S1600 series.
JWRC
The following year, Kris moved up to the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC), driver an Opel Corsa run by Team Palmer. He made an impressive debut setting the fastest time on two of the final leg stages however a string of minor problems dropped Meeke down the order. He retired in the next rally and a potential second place finish in Italy was lost after a crash. Shortly afterwards he claimed consolation by winning the British S1600 title. On the final round of the 2003 JWRC held in Britain, Meeke was running in 2nd place in the JWRC and in 17th position overall before being forced to retire after hitting a rock and rolling his car.
Kris kicked the 2004 season off in style by finishing 3rd in class in the Rally of Monte Carlo. He then took part in the British S1600 event in Wales as a shakedown for the next JWRC in Greece, winning the Welsh event along the way. The next two JWRC events in Greece and Turkey were marred by mechanical problems on the rough gravel terrain. He then took part in the Pirelli Rally in Tampere as shakedown for the next JWRC event in Finland, scoring a class win in Pirelli Rally. He was leading the Finnish JWRC event before a mistake caused him to have a heavy crash and retire. There was further disappointment for Kris when during the last JWRC event in Wales he was plagued by electrical issues in his Opel Corsa. However a spirited drive saw him set seven fastest stage times and finish on the podium in second place.
IRC
In 2009, Meeke alongside co-driver Paul Nagle contest the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in a Peugeot UK backed 207 S2000. He crashed out heavily on the Monte Carlo Rally but went on to win the next three rounds he competed in at Brazil, Portugal, and Belgium.He won the championship at the penultimate round by winning Rally Sanremo in Italy, after his closest rival Jan Kopecky crashed on the second stage. Meeke finished off the season with a dominant win of the inaugural Rally Scotland, winning 7 of the 13 stages on the way to victory.
Kris starred in a wave of adverts for the Peugeot 207 in 2009, with the tagline "He's Meeke, but he's not mild".
For 2010, Meeke is continuing his successful partnership with Paul Nagle and Peugeot, competing in 10 rounds of the IRC.
WRC
On 2 September 2010, Autosport magazine announced that Meeke had signed for the Prodrive team that will run MINI World Rally Championship (WRC) return in 2011.