Meeke secures momentous win

26 April 2015 07:17

Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke has become the first British driver to win a World Rally since 2002 after claiming his maiden win in Argentina on Sunday.

The 35-year-old from Dungannon beat Citroen team-mate Mads Ostberg by 18.1 seconds, the first British win since the late Colin McRae was victorious in Kenya 13 years ago, while Welshman Elfyn Evans took third - his first WRC podium.

"The one guy who did most for me isn't here to see this," Meeke said on the WRC website. "This is for Colin. He helped my career out at the very beginning. He supported me financially through to the world championship. Without his support I wouldn't be here."

Meeke has dominated throughout the four days in Argentina, finding form having crashed out of the opening three rounds of the season.

Ostberg had to battle illness and engine problems to take second place, giving Citroen a first one-two finish in three years, while Evans had to cling on for third, battling suspension problems on his Ford Fiesta RS over the final stage.

He finished three minutes, 27.4 seconds down on Meeke after giving up a full minute on the final stage, but did enough to stay ahead of Czech driver Martin Prokop.

Ostberg's second consecutive second place sees him go up to second in the championship standings behind Sebastian Ogier, who could only manage 17th in his Volkswagen after fuel injection problems.

Source: PA