Former WRC star Kris Meeke extended his winning streak in Portugal by taking his third consecutive victory. The Northern Irishman beat fellow WRC veteran Dani Sordo by 27.6 seconds on the gravel stages.
The final stage, run in rainy conditions, delivered plenty of drama. Meeke, who held a lead of just under ten seconds, spun his Toyota Rally2 car on the slippery surface, briefly opening the door for Sordo to mount a challenge.
However, Sordo’s Hyundai suffered a puncture, costing him significant time and ultimately forcing the Spanish star to settle for second place – his third runner-up finish in Portugal this season.
“It’s fantastic to win for the third time this year in Portugal. That moment at the start of the final stage was a bit scary, but we made it through the tough conditions, and everything ended well,” Meeke said with relief.
“It was a good fight with Kris, but the bad luck on the final stage cost me a lot of time,” Sordo commented.
Portuguese veteran Armindo Araújo made a strong charge on the final stage, setting the fastest time on the rally’s namesake test and moving up to third place. He edged out Finnish driver Roope Korhonen, who had to settle for fourth overall.
Korhonen showed promising speed at times against a high-calibre field, and a podium place wasn’t far out of reach. However, the gap to Meeke eventually extended to over two minutes in the challenging conditions.
Korhonen used the event as preparation for Rally Portugal, the next round of the WRC, which begins in less than two weeks. Other familiar WRC2 names were also in action, including championship leader Yohan Rossel and Spain’s Jan Solans. Both drivers were behind Korhonen in the standings after the final stage and ultimately decided to retire from the rally before the official finish.
Latvian driver Martins Sesks also used the event as a warm-up ahead of his Rally1 outing with M-Sport in Portugal. He drove a Ford Fiesta Rally2 this time, but technical issues forced him out on the fifth stage. Before retiring, Sesks was running third, ahead of Korhonen.
Rally Portugal will take place from 15 to 18 May in the Porto region.
