Desborough: Meeke would have done as well as Dani.

by Rob Wilkins

Jon Desborough reckons that Kris Meeke would have done just as well as Dani Sordo this season had Citroen put the Brit in one of Kronos-run Xsara WRC's alongside Sebastien Loeb and Xavier Pons.

Speaking exclusively to Crash.net Radio at the recent Rallyday 2006, the former WRC TV presenter added that Meeke definitely has what it takes to succeed at the top level in the FIA World Rally Championship.

"Yes [Dani has been impressive] - but it would have been nice to see Kris Meeke do that, because I am sure Kris would have been equally sensational," said Desborough. "But there was a time when Citroen, the World Rally Championship team Citroen went Spanish - if you remember Carlos [Sainz] got the drive instead of Colin [McRae] and that has been replicated with Dani Sordo getting the drive instead of Kris Meeke. Kris would have been brilliant in that car and if he had been in that car this season, we would have all been much more involved in the championship, than I think we are at the moment. But you can't keep talent down can you? And Dani Sordo is a talent."

Pressed on if he thought Meeke could have done better than Sordo, who has notched up three podiums and currently lies third in the drivers' championship, Desborough said he definitely would of as he is British!

"Of course he would - he carries a British passport! What else does a man need? And he comes from that part of the world that is absolutely barmy on rallying, which is, Northern Ireland," he added, side stepping the question. "And they have now got a round of the World Rally Championship and boy is that going to be a mad round of the world championship. They are completely mad for it. I have been over and done two Donegal's and an Ulster, as a co-driver and everybody over there has got a Mark II Escort and a garage at the back of the garden and if they've not and they have made a few bucks, they have got a WRC Ford or a WRC Subaru. And I will be really interested to see how it goes and that is one event, I think, I might just turn out for at the end of next year, when it joins the schedule - brilliant."

As for what Meeke and fellow Brit, Guy Wilks need to do to step up from the Junior WRC, Desborough added it all comes down to money: "The cynic in me says they need a cheque for about ?50 million [to 'graduate'] - but it might only be ?3 million or ?4 million. Somebody else might say they need the series to be level - they need everybody to be in the same cars, so that the best driver emerges. If you have got the same sort of car, the same backing and the same money involved, then the best driver can be picked from that," he concluded.