Time to believe in Meeke

There are two conversations going on down the pub as I type. Actually, there are probably more than just two. But there are two that interest me right now.

The first one goes something like this.

Carling: "So, Meeke, eh..."

Flowers: "I know, unbelievable. All he's ever done is crash. What a waste of a great car."

Another conversation. Another boozer.

Pride: "So, Meeke, eh..."

Stella: "I know. Fantastic news. Just what British rallying needs."

Which chat was yours? Let's not be bashful here, there are those who completely, 100 per cent don't see the point of Kris Meeke competing at the sharp end of the World Rally Championship. And those people are absolutely welcome to hold that worthy opinion.

So far, Meeke's career has featured too much of this © McKlein

Worthy that is, but worthy and wrong.

British rally fans owe it to our sport to stand behind Dungannon's finest next season, regardless of opinion or preference.

Yes, he crashes every now and then, but how many people rolled a Citroen DS3 WRC on Ouninpohja, did zero testing then stepped aboard another Citroen DS3 WRC on the other side of the world in Australia a month later and beat Sebastien Ogier to the fastest time in qualifying?

Just the one, I think you'll find.

Recent history has led us to justifiably question his ability to find the finish, but it has also put his speed beyond question. And his commitment to the cause is way beyond question.

There's nothing new in drivers keeping fit, but Meeke has taken that to another level in recent years. And what did he do it for? For too long, he did it for absolutely nothing. Dropped in the harshest of circumstances by Prodrive at the start of 2012, KM was faced, for the second time, with life in the wilderness.

The first time came when he was dropped by Citroen at the end of 2006. He'd been the fastest Junior driver in the world that season, but he was far from the complete package the French firm was looking for.

Flying for Citroen in the 2006 Junior series didn't earn Meeke a WRC opportunity © LAT

He is now.

When the Prodrive Mini ride went south - and with his 30th birthday already behind him - Meeke could have been forgiven for heading home to Northern Ireland and settling down to fettle the World Rally Cars of the province's gentleman drivers.

There was a sensible living to be made at that and, with the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title in his back pocket, he'd experienced success in the sport. He'd earned his chance to make some cash and show some of the boys the way to drive.

That way wasn't for Meeke. Too bloody-minded to give up, too obstinate to turn his back on what he wanted and felt he deserved, he dug his heels in and returned to Peugeot for more testing.

In the meantime, he got his head down and, knowing he couldn't fund a World Rally Car outing here or there in the WRC, he did what he could do for free.

At the end of 2012, he headed to Mexico and finished 18th on his first shot at the Baja 1000. Not bad for a bloke in a car with a co-driver. Except he wasn't: he was on a bike and he did all 1200 competitive miles on his own.

All of that was part of the plan - the plan to keep himself in tune and ready. The chance, he was sure, would come.

And it did. Finland, the flat-out poisoned chalice. Out of a World Rally Car for 18 months, get in and go. In Sebastien Loeb's car. The result? First run through shakedown... second quickest. And straight into the top 10. And then the top five. And then the ditch.

Sky. Ditch. Sky.

Meeke's Finland crash was a big one © McKlein

It was a biggie - Ouninpohja doesn't do small shunts.

Citroen kept the faith. Fair enough; they'd told Meeke to give it a crack and see what kind of speed he could find, and he'd done that. And found good speed.

He found more of the same in Australia, but then crashed. Meeke and the team studied the data, the onboards, everything, and made sense of a small overshoot that had horrible consequences.

Forgiveness came his way for a second time.

But a third?

Not from the look on team boss Yves Matton's face when I went to talk to him about the wheel which Meeke had ripped from the DS3's right-rear not far from the Coffs Harbour service park an hour or so earlier.

I have to admit, I thought KM was sunk. I couldn't see a way back from there.

Meeting him at the airport the next day, I'm not sure he could either. I should have known better. Of course he could.

When drivers reach a certain level, they have to develop a frightening degree of self-belief. Without that knowledge that they can do it and do it faster than anybody else, they're sunk.

Meeke knew Australia 2013 could've been his last chance © McKlein

What form that belief takes is entirely dependent on that person's character. For example, Loeb would never have come across as a driver overflowing with belief that he was the best, but he had it.

Remember Mexico in 2011, when Ogier was leading him in the same car going into the final day? Loeb knew he would beat his team-mate. He had a little word with him, just to let him know that he knew he was going to beat him. And then he went out and beat him.

Then there was the Colin McRae kind of confidence. At the height of his power, few would have dared suggest to the Scot that anybody might be able to beat him from A to B across a level playing field. And if they did, McRae would put them in their place with another galloping win.

McRae brimmed with self-confidence behind the wheel of a Subaru.

And that confidence is what Meeke has. And he's going to need it. Don't mistake it for arrogance; that's something entirely different.

Meeke is completely capable, talent-wise, of doing something very special and rewarding Citroen's patience and belief in him.

But he has to show that he really is a different driver from the one Citroen dropped all those years ago. He needs to show he really has matured and learned some lessons.

Meeke delivered the title when Peugeot gave him a full campaign in the IRC

I firmly believe he has. Given the spread of a season instead of a series of one-offs, he will deliver the goods. He knows more than anybody that he needs to keep his head through the Monte, bag some points on the unknown rallies in Sweden, Mexico and Portugal, and then let rip when he gets to where he's been before.

Meeke, more than any of us, understands that this is the season of his life.

And, if there are those of you wavering, still siding with Flowers? OK, your prerogative. But worth remembering that Meeke's arrival at the top flight can only be good for rally watchers nationwide.

The single biggest barrier to the development of the sport in Britain for the last decade has been the lack of a McRae or Burns. Now, I'm not saying Meeke is either of them, but he is absolutely our best bet: he's a factory Citroen driver!

Get out there, wave your flag, bang your drum and get behind Kris Meeke. He's our way out of a British rallying recession.

And for anybody wanting to dismiss this as jingoistic nonsense, might I suggest you copy your comments to a man who has crunched a whole heap of numbers and has come to the same conclusion as me. He's the man who's paid his money and made his choice.

His name's Yves. He works in Versailles. And knows quite a lot about world rallying.

Now, all that said, please Kris, don't drop it.