WRC – Meeke and Citroën conquer a podium in Argentina

After his flying start with a third place in the Rally from Monaco, Kris Meeke is aiming for a result of the same order this weekend at the Rally Argentina, where the difficulty of the special stages has caused many victims in the peloton. If Volkswagen won almost all the scratches (except the super special of the second stage won by Thierry Neuville), the Northern Irishman’s Citroën remains in third place ahead of the Polo R WRC of Andreas Mikkelsen who left yesterday in Rally 2 with a lead of almost two minutes which should be enough to stay ahead of the Norwegian at the end of the 76km timed test of the last day.

“After the reconnaissance, we knew it would be the most complicated day of the rally”, comments Kris Meeke. “It takes a lot of experience to be able to go fast on these roads. We learned a lot. It was important to avoid mistakes and we achieved this objective. The results of the day are very satisfactory because we kept two minutes ahead of our first pursuers. We will have to continue like this until the finish! » The Citroën driver clearly cannot afford to take unnecessary risks, his delay on the Polo R WRCs of Jari-Matti Latvala and Sébastien Ogier being way too important. “The objectives were clearly set today. Kris had to protect his third position by riding at a good pace. He learned and progressed between the two passages. The gap remains sufficient to approach the final day with confidence?, underlines Marek Nawarecki, Deputy Team Principal of Citroën Racing.

After dropping out in the first stage, Mads Ostberg was able to climb back into the top ten at the end of the second day thanks to Rally 2. The Norwegian is nevertheless worried after hurting his hand while driving. “The stages were particularly difficult on the second pass. I did my best even if we can no longer fight up front. At least we are trying to score points. I suffered a steering wheel kickback on SS9. During the last stage, I only used my left hand to drive. I hope our doctor can find a way to relieve the pain? »

The final stage of the Rally Argentina will be contested from 13:44 p.m. (French time). Videos of the event can be viewed on this link.