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Rally drivers are tasked with navigating treacherous terrain with the help of a co-driver reading off pace notes about the stage. However, co-drivers were never tasked with drawing the next WRC rally car during a stage in a van, though.
WRC got creative with this challenge, and we like it. Citroën driver Kris Meeke and Co-driver Paul Nagle hopped in a Citroën Jumper to rally against M-Sport’s Elfyn Evans and Dan Barritt in a Ford Transit. Both co-drivers replaced their pace notes for colored pencils and a fresh sheet of paper to draw the next WRC rally car before the end of the stage, with the best drawing determining the winner. The drivers only had to worry about keeping the van on all four wheels. Not too hard, right?
Meeke and Nagle stopped early in the stage because they thought there was a puncture in one of their tires, but quickly resumed the stage. Nagle was also inconvenienced shortly after resuming the stage due to losing his pencil sharpener. That made the tension between the two a little greater from that point on. On the other hand, Evans and Barritt blazed through the stage, but Barritt forgot to sharpen his pencils before the stage. A costly mistake.
In the end, this competition was a little too predictable. Both of the co-driver’s drawings were equally as terrible, and there was no distinguished winner. Instead of a tie, WRC called the race a “draw.” Yes, pun intended and all.
