Van Dalen: Meeke is as good as Loeb

Peugeot UK Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle 5 Van Dalen: Meeke is as good as Loeb

Kronos boss Marc van Dalen has said that Kris Meeke's Rallye Sanremo performance reminded him of Sebastien Loeb, writes Motorsport News.

Van Dalen, who ran Loeb in the 2006 WRC, said: "His drive reminded me of Sebastien, it was so amazing. When you know how difficult it is to drive in Sanremo, and when you know he did this rally for the very first time against drivers like Francois Duval, it's fantastic. It really is comparable with Sebastien."

Van Dalen says Meeke's IRC title success vindicates his decision to recommend the Peugeot driver to Peugeot UK for 2009.

"At the end of last year when Peugeot UK were in touch with me and we were discussing the programme for 2009, I pushed for Kris and they said they would trust me and trust him. Historically, people have said Kris is a good driver but he goes off a lot, but we have worked so hard together to show that it is not true. What he has done this year has proved it.

Meeke and Nagle 13 Van Dalen: Meeke is as good as Loeb

"It is a very nice human story: one year ago, the first contact with Kris about the Peugeot UK programme was at Sanremo. He was there as a tourist and I told him that I might have an opportunity for him. One year ago nobody was talking about Kris - and now he is a great champion," added van Dalen.

Kris Meeke plans to defend his IRC title next year and Peugeot UK are said to be keen to continue in the series for 2010 with the Northern Irishman.

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