| Chris Patterson |
It seemed inevitable that Chris Patterson would forge a career in motorsport given his family background. His parents and brothers work in rallying, and Patterson took his first tentative steps in the sport in 1989 when he made his debut in a small rally close to home in northern Ireland. Rallying was just for fun in those days as he worked in a Belfast auction house and had to be back behind his desk on a Monday morning. Patterson quickly realised his skills in the co-driver’s seat were better than those behind the wheel, so he made the decision to concentrate on that role. His first major event was with five-time British champion Jimmy McRae, when he partnered the Scot in the 1992 Donegal Rally in Ireland. Patterson tackled a variety of rallies in Britain and Europe alongside McRae and other drivers, until in 1999 he took the major decision to give up his regular job and turn professional. That year he tackled the British Championship alongside David Higgins and also formed part of Alister McRae’s gravel crew in the FIA World Rally Championship. In 2001 Patterson joined forces with Gwyndaf Evans and tackled the British Championship alongside the Welshman for two years. He also assisted former world champion Colin McRae with test work in 2002, and was rewarded by co-driving for the Scot in a MG Metro 6R4 in the McRae Stages in Scotland. Patterson enjoyed his first full season in the WRC in 2003 when he partnered Kris Meeke in the JWRC and Niall McShea in the PWRC. He also achieved a major ambition by winning the Circuit of Ireland, his favourite event, alongside Derek McGarrity. In 2004 Patterson tackled the PWRC and the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in a Subaru Impreza alongside Nasser Al Attiyah, a partnership that continued until 2008 with great success. They won the PWRC world title in 2006 and the MERC series on four occasions. Patterson added a fifth MERC co-driver’s title to his tally in 2009 alongside Misfir Al Mari, and has scored a remarkable 28 rally wins in the championship. The 2010 season was scheduled to be a quieter one as Patterson decided to take a break from full-time competition. He partnered Evans in the British Championship until midway through the year when he was offered a dream seat in the WRC alongside 2003 world champion Petter Solberg in a Citroen C4. It was an opportunity Patterson could not refuse and he made his debut alongside the Norwegian at Rally Bulgaria. They duo went on to take five podium finishes during the second half of the campaign, adding a further three in a Citroen DS3 last season.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
