The Brits had a fantastic few days in South America over the weekend, with Northern Irishman Kris Meeke taking victory in Rally Argentina, besting his Citroen teammate Mads Osteberg by over 18 seconds. Welshman Elfyn Evans managed to clinch his first WRC podium with a third place finish in his Ford Fiesta.
It was an emotional win for Meeke, as it was the first WRC first-place finish by a Briton since the late Colin McRae took top honors in Kenya some 13 years ago. McRae mentored Meeke early in his career.
“The one guy who did most for me isn’t here to see this. 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,” said Meeke after his win.
The victory is Citroen’s first since former world champion Sebastien Loeb won in Argentina two years ago. It’s also a break in Volkswagen’s seven-rally winning streak, with current defending world champ Sebasiten Ogier dropping out of the rally Friday following mechanical issues. Ogier’s teammate, Jari-Matti Latvala, also suffered a breakdown on Sunday, opening up the opportunity for Evans to take third.
"You’re as old as you feel and I feel like I am 21," the 35-year-old Meeke said.
The weekend’s results see Ogier maintain his overall lead in the championship, followed by Ostberg and Andreas Mikkelsen. Evans sits at a close fourth, with Meeke in fifth.
Next month, the WRC is back across the Atlantic for Rally Portugal.
WRC 2015 – Rally Argentina originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 27 April 2015 17:00 EST.
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