Kris Meeke two seconds off the pace

— Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle ended day one of Rally Australia in second position in their DS 3 WRC, just two seconds behind the overall leader.
— Ninth at the start of the final stage of the day, their team-mates in the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team Stéphane Lefebvre and Stéphane Prévot had to retire for the day in the final few kilometres after hitting a rock. They will rejoin the rally tomorrow.

The Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team started Rally Australia with a somewhat altered line-up. After an accident during recce for the event, Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson were already on their way back to Europe yesterday, so Stéphane Lefebvre and Stéphane Prévot were tasked with driving their number 4 DS 3 WRC. Originally in Australia only to take part in recce, the two Stéphanes seized the opportunity to support Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle.

Despite a few overnight showers in the area, the roads were dry by this morning. During a series of three brand new tests, Kris Meeke established himself in the top three. He then won the longest stage of the morning (SS4, Newry Long), meaning that he headed for midday service as the overall leader.

In the afternoon, the conditions changed. With the racing lines partially swept clear of dust, Kris had to defend his position as the earlier starters began to make up ground. Overall leader ahead of the day’s final stage, he ended the leg in second overall, just two seconds behind Jari-Matti Latvala after having been held up by the hanging dust on his run.

Three weeks after making his competitive debut in the DS 3 WRC at Rallye Deutschland, Stéphane Lefebvre discovered an entirely different setting this morning as he tackled gravel stages for the first time. With his experience of the surface limited to 25 kilometres during shakedown, the young Frenchman gradually found his bearings, first of all with soft tyres and then on the hard compound. Ninth overall at the start of the day’s final test, he hit a rock and was forced to retire just a few kilometres short of the end of the stage. The number 4 DS 3 WRC will rejoin the rally on Saturday and will be first on the road.

Tomorrow’s leg only features four stages. The cars are due to leave parc ferme at 8.40am (GMT+10) as they set off for Nambucca. The rally’s longest stage (50.80km) will get underway at 10.18am, before the crews then tackle Valla (7.94km) which will be broadcast live on television. Following a thirty-minute service, the stages will be repeated in the afternoon, the second run on Valla being held after nightfall, at 6.10pm. The cars are due back in Coffs Harbour 7.30pm.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

Kris Meeke: "I’m pleased with my day. We took advantage of our starting position this morning to make a good start to the rally. We lost first place on the final stage of the day, but I couldn’t do much more to defend the position, given the dust clouds that reduced our visibility. There will be more sweeping tomorrow. We’ll see how the rally goes, bearing in mind that the most important thing is to make it to the finish and be consistent. If the opportunity presents itself, then we’ll try to fight for the win."

Stéphane Lefebvre: "I have really enjoyed driving the DS 3 WRC on these roads. I’m perhaps not very quick as yet, but I’m learning. We weren’t expecting to be as competitive in the first three stages. The conditions undoubtedly helped us, but we had never driven the DS 3 WRC competitively on gravel. This afternoon, we tried to improve. Unfortunately, we broke a ball-joint on the suspension wishbone when he hit a rock on the final stage. We’ll be able to rejoin tomorrow, but we’ll be first on the road. So that’s something else we’ll have to tackle for the first time!"

Marek Nawarecki (Deputy Team Principal): "Kris Meeke made a very good start to the race in the DS 3 WRC. For his first day in the DS 3 WRC on gravel, Stéphane Lefebvre was able to see how the two types of tyres handle differently. He learned a lot and it’s important that he keeps going tomorrow so he can acquire more experience for the future."

HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED

SS1 – Utungun 1 (7.88km) – Dani Sordo grabbed the early overall lead after winning the opening stage. He finished less than a second ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen and Ott Tänak. Kris Meeke was fifth fastest and Stéphane Lefebvre was seventh on his first gravel stage in the DS 3 WRC.

SS2 – Bakers Creek 1 (16.75km) – Dani Sordo maintained his strong early pace to notch a second stage win, beating Hayden Paddon and Kris Meeke who also formed the new top three in the overall standings. Stéphane Lefebvre set the tenth fastest time.

SS3 – Northbank 1 (8.42km) – Dani Sordo made the most of the conditions to top the timesheets for a third consecutive stage, finishing ahead of Kris Meeke and Thierry Neuville. No change in the top three overall, whilst Stéphane Lefebvre scored another top ten finish.

SS4 – Newry Long 1 (29.51km) – Kris Meeke set the fastest time to become the new overall leader, ahead of Dani Sordo and Hayden Paddon. Stéphane Lefebvre was ninth fastest ahead of the midday service.

SS5 – Utungun 2 (7.88km) – On the second run, Jari-Matti Latvala took advantage of different conditions to go fastest on Utungun, just ahead of Kris Meeke and Ott Tänak. Stéphane Lefebvre maintained his morning pace to grab ninth place.

SS6 – Bakers Creek 2 (16.75km) – Another stage win for Jari-Matti Latvala, ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen and Kris Meeke. Kris Meeke remained the overall leader and Stéphane Lefebvre held onto ninth position.

SS7 – Northbank 2 (8.42km) – Jari-Matti Latvala moved up into second place behind Kris Meeke as he topped the timesheets on Northbank. No change in position for Stéphane Lefebvre.

SS8 – Newry Long 2 (29.51km) – At the end of the day, dust tended to hang in the air over the road. First on the road, Sébastien Ogier set the fastest time, trailed by Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke. Latvala therefore snatched the overall lead, just 2.0 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke and 4.6 seconds clear of Sébastien Ogier. Stéphane Lefebvre stopped on the stage when he broke the front suspension after hitting a rock.