Hänninen : Meeke was hard to beat

Juho Hänninen says he would have found it hard to beat Kris Meeke on of Rally Internacional de Curitiba even if he hadn’t suffered a puncture on the opening day of the event.

The Finn fought back to third overall courtesy of six stage wins in his Škoda Motorsport-run Fabia Super 2000. The result means he now goes three points clear in the IRC drivers’ standings.

He said: “Kris drove very well all of the rally, especially the first stage, so it would have been difficult to beat him even without the puncture. After the recce I thought it was not so big advantage for him that he had done the rally before. But when the rally starts I realise there are so many crests and the lines are very important at high speed.

“I was more happy on Saturday because I got back into my rhythm and had some better speed. To be leading the championship is quite okay.”

Along with the second-place points scored by Guy Wilks, Hänninen’s capture of third means Škoda’s lead in the manufacturers’ championship is now seven points over Peugeot.