Kris Meeke has laughed off suggestions that he could challenge Eugene Donnelly for the outright win on this weekend's UAC Easter International, where he will make his Irish tarmac rally debut in a McKinstry Motorsport Subaru S11.
The JWRC regular is seeded four for the event, which was formerly known as the Circuit of Ireland Rally, despite it being only his second ever outing in a World Rally Car and his first on tarmac. As a result, he admits that Irish tarmac expert Donnelly ought to be a speck in the distance on the leaderboard.
"There is no doubt that this is going to be a big challenge for me," Meeke accepted, "I have not driven a car competitively for almost five months now, so I will simply do the best for myself, Kenny and the sponsors. Hopefully, the weather holds out, and we can have a clean fight.
"However, Eugene's not even on my radar. Who in their right mind would think I can put it up to a driver like him on this rally? It is not something I'm even thinking about. Look what he did to Marcus [Gronholm] in Galway - and he's a two-time world champion who was there with the full paraphernalia of the works Ford team.
"Eugene's a real Irish tarmac specialist and anyone would have trouble beating him over here, let alone someone like me who has never driven any kind of four-wheel-drive car, never mind a full WRC Subaru, on tarmac before."
The rally begins with a ceremonial start at Derry's Guild Hall on Friday night, before tackling six special stages in the Sperrin Mountains on both Saturday and Sunday. There will be a central service area in Omagh on both days.
