WRC Monte Carlo: Kris Meeke not tempted to take risks in bid for lead
Citroen driver Kris Meeke insists he will not be tempted in to pushing harder in an attempt to wrest the lead of the Monte Carlo Rally, despite a strong opening day
The Northern Irish driver ended the first day in an impressive second place and heads in to the second leg 38.8 seconds adrift of overnight leader Bryan Bouffier.
The weather in the French Alps turned day one of the Monte Carlo Rally in to a lottery, and Meeke ran two winter tyres on the third test as he moved up to second place.
Former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica edged him for the provisional runners-up spot in SS5, but the DS3 WRC driver regained the spot on the final stage - ending up just 0.7 seconds clear of his Polish rival.
"It's nice to be in this position," said Meeke. "But it is a very long way to Monte Carlo and I'm not about to be tempted in to taking any risks or changing any strategy.
"This event is all about survival for us. We struggled a lot on the winter tyre this afternoon, because I'd never tested it before and I just didn't know how much the car would slide in the mud.
"When that's happening you lose a lot of time. At times, in the snow, we have been driving at 15-20 km/h and you know you can go off the road so easily - even at that speed."
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