MINI WRC driver pairing of Kris Meeke (pictured left) and his co-driver Paul Nagle have been dropped, Autocar reports. At this stage the shock decision has not been officially confirmed and Prodrive chairman Dave Richards has been unavailable for comment.
It’s understood MINI and Prodrive have struggled to find enough sponsorship to keep Meeke/Nagle in their roles for 2012. The Irish duo still have two years remaining on their contract. The status of lead driver Dani Sordo (pictured right) remains unaffected and he will drive in all 12 races next year.
Apparently MINI will auction off their second car to the highest bidder on an event-by-event basis. It is hoped Meeke and Nagle will remain with the team behind the scenes and could return to competition if enough funding can be raised.
It’s the second blow for MINI and Prodrive following the news before Christmas that the team had missed the deadline to lodge their official entry for the 2012 season. Perhaps we now have a reason why.
[Source: Autocar]
4 replies on “MINI’s WRC woes continue as Meeke is dropped”
This is a bit of a shame. Sounds like something is not quite right here. I guess the team was hoping its good showing so far would be enough to secure a sponsorship deal.
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