WRC 2016: Kris Meeke takes Rally Portugal victory
Kris Meeke has won the fifth round of the World Rally Championship in Portugal. The win is Meeke’s second rally victory of his career after winning
By autoX Editorial
The Briton who had missed the previous two rounds of the current season in Mexico and Argentina, came back to win the rally in Portugal for the Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team driving the Citroen DS3 WRC car.
Meeke led 18 of the 19 competitive stages, over the course of the four-day rally, to clinch the victory over Andreas Mikkelsen with a lead of 29.7 seconds. Mikkelsen managed to out pace, team-mate and reigning WRC champion, Sebastian Ogier, relegating him to the third step on the podium. Ogier clocked in a time only 4.8 seconds slower than Mikkelsen overall, with Dani Sordo in the Hyundai finishing fourth overall in the rally.
On the final live TV Power Stage, Ogier got the fastest time to be awarded three bonus points while his Volkswagen team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikkelsen finished second and third respectively.
Following his first rally victory in Argentina in April this year, Hayden Paddon suffered a major crash on the fifth stage. The crash resulted to a fire caused from the heat from the exhaust engulfing the entire Hyundai i20 rally car ending his run in Portugal.
With 114 points to his name, Ogier still leads the championship with a healthy lead. Closest competitor, Mikkelsen trails in second with 67 points. Mads Ostberg is only nine points behind him in third for Ford.
