WRC Australia: Kris Meeke apologises to Citroen for crash

The Northern Irish driver rolled out of the event mid-way through SS13.

Talking exclusively to AUTOSPORT, Meeke said the accident was one of the most bizarre of his career.

"I got onto the loose under braking for a second-gear right-hander," Meeke explained.

"I handbraked the car and got it into the corner, but the car dropped onto an access road coming in from the right. I had time to think: "OK, that's OK."

"Everything was stopped and the car was fine. The field was at 45 degrees and because of that, slow as you like, it started to roll."

The car is believed to have rolled six times, but Meeke was still able to drive back to the road. A broken damper ensured he couldn't complete the stage, however.

"I was here to do a rally with no mistakes, drive my own rhythm and that's what I was doing, but I made a mistake," said Meeke.

"I am so sorry for the team, they have all put so much into this event and we were in the perfect position for them. I don't know to say, but sorry really goes without saying."

Meeke added that the changes made to the car at lunchtime had improved the DS3 WRC's handling.

"I'd had a little bit of understeer in the morning," said Meeke, "so we had changed the preload on the front diff and made some suspension changes and the car was perfect."

Meeke now has to wait for the scrutineer's decision on whether the car is permitted to continue under Rally 2 regulations tomorrow.

Citroen team principal Yves Matton has confirmed Meeke will be back in the car if the scrutineers give the mechanics the green light to fix it.