Kris Meeke flies the flag for Citroën

— After the opening five stages of Rally Argentina, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle lie third overall for the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team.
— In the second DS3 WRC, Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson were unable to finish this long first day, featuring almost 160 kilometres of timed sections.

Rally Argentina got underway on Thursday afternoon with a first run on the super special stage held just a few kilometres from the Carlos Paz service park. Mads Østberg finished second on the opening test, while Kris Meeke set the eighth fastest time.

This morning, on very technical and tricky roads, Mads Østberg went off on SS2. The incident brought the Norwegian’s day to a premature end, leaving his team-mate Kris Meeke to defend the chances of the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team for the rest of the leg.

The British driver kept out of trouble throughout the long stages on roads around La Cumbre. And by cutting the gap to the leader on the day’s final stage whilst other crews retired, he managed to grab third place in the overall standings.

Saturday’s leg features five stages. Crews will set off at 6.25am from Carlos Paz, covering a total of 646 kilometres, with 146km of timed sections. After SS10, the competitors will drive their cars into parc ferme at 8.23pm.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

Kris Meeke: “It was a fantastic day. It wasn’t always easy because the stages were really difficult. When I saw that Mikkelsen and Neuville had stopped, I eased off a little to hold my position. This afternoon, we went with the soft compound whereas all the other crews opted for hard tyres. I think we drove pretty well, really. Tomorrow, we’ll need to apply the same strategy and make sure we continue to avoid making any mistakes.”

Mads Østberg: “After sixteen kilometres of the day’s opening stage, there was a small jump after a right-hand corner, and the rear of the car kicked up slightly. We landed on the front axle and were thrown off the racing line. The car hit a rock which damaged the front left wheel and the suspension.”

Marek Nawarecki (Citroën Racing Deputy Team Principal): “It was an incident-packed day. We knew that the stages were going to be demanding. Almost half of the WRC crews didn’t finish the leg. Mads Østberg made a mistake. We are waiting for the car to see whether or not he’ll be able to rejoin tomorrow. As regards Kris Meeke, he managed to stay out of trouble. He also showed he could up his pace on the second loop.”

HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED

SS1 – Super Special Stage Fernet Branca (6.04km) – The rally got underway on Thursday afternoon. After the two-lap super special stage, Sébastien Ogier set the fastest time, followed by Mads Østberg in second. Kris Meeke finished eighth.

SS2 – Santa Catalina / La Pampa 1 (27.09km) – The crews were very apprehensive about this stage after recce. Within a few kilometres of the start, Mikko Hirvonen and Mads Østberg retired, and Dani Sordo lost close to three minutes. Sébastien Ogier went fastest once again, ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala. Fourth fastest on the stage, Kris Meeke moved up to fifth overall.

SS3 – Ascochinga / Agua de Oro 1 (51.88km) – Stages of over fifty kilometres are few and far between in rallying. The Argentinean course features one that the crews had to complete twice. With a time of over 38 minutes, Jari-Matti Latvala went fastest, ahead of Sébastien Ogier. Kris Meeke consolidated his position with the fifth best time.

SS4 – Santa Catalina / La Pampa 2 (27.09km) – Sébastien Ogier won the stage to reclaim first place overall by less than a second from Jari-Matti Latvala. Kris Meeke remained fifth overall.

SS5 – Ascochinga / Agua de Oro 2 (51.88km) – Quicker than his team-mate on the long stage, Jari-Matti Latvala ended day one holding the overall lead in the rally, followed by Sébastien Ogier in second. Andreas Mikkelsen and Thierry Neuville both stopped on this stage. By closing the gap on the stage-winning time considerably compared with the first pass, Kris Meeke grabbed third place overall.