Northern Irish driver enjoys second World Rally victory of 2017 after dominating proceedings
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After a dominating display, Britain’s Kris Meeke has won the Rally of Spain in Catalonia.
This is the 38-year old’s second World Rally Championship victory of 2017 despite almost being dropped from the Citroen line-up after a shaky performance at Rally Poland earlier in the year.
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krismeeke</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/paulnagle1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">paulnagle1 take an emphatic win in Spain, a huge moral boost for the whole ofCitroenRacing</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RallyRACC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RallyRACC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldRallyMedia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldRallyMedia</a> <a href="https://t.co/e6ietGbnaj">pic.twitter.com/e6ietGbnaj</a></p>— World Rally Media (worldrallymedia) October 8, 2017
Meeke was already in the lead heading into the final day of action and his relentless pace kept him ahead of Sebastien Ogier who clinched second place some 28 seconds behind his Northern Irish rival.
The race took a pivotal twist when Thierry Neuville was forced to retire with damage. The Hyundai driver clipped a corner, shattering his suspension. Neuville came into the day’s racing in second place but this result will leave Ogier with a commanding lead at the top of the overall standings heading into the final two races of the year.
Estonian Ott Tanak’s strong performance in Spain has seen him overtake Neuville into second place in the overall standings. Ogier leads by 38 points.
Andreas Mikkelsen was another driver to run into difficultly during Sunday’s early stages.
The Norwegian failed to bolt down his car’s bonnet, causing it to flip up mid-race. His intercom also failed, leaving him to struggle to the finish line.The next event takes place in Wales later this month.