Portugal: Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg finished Vodafone Rally de Portugal, Round 5 of the FIA World Rally Championship, in fourth and seventh place, picking up precious points for the team.
Northern Irishman Meeke picked up a total of two stage wins at the event while Ostberg was fastest on one stage, a good sign for the new, updated DS3 WRC going ahead into the season.
On Saturday, Meeke began the penultimate day 11.1 seconds of the leader’s pace and conceded a further 0.3 seconds on the opening stage. However, the Northern Irishman, behind the wheel of the DS 3 WRC, took a total of 5.3 seconds off the rally leader to cut the gap to just 6.1 seconds at the service break.
This was achieved after Meeke set the fastest times on SS9 and SS10, giving him two stage wins to the three he won on Rally Argentina where he also secured his first FIA WRC victory. Meeke, however, had a difficult time keeping his right-rear tyre in line on the final two tests for the day which saw him losing pace and eventually finishing third overall, 20.0 seconds off the leader.
Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qasimi, meanwhile, had a difficult day being the first on the stages. “That was very difficult for me,” Al Qasimi said, “A car was in the middle of the road. I stopped to check on Evans and his co-driver. It was quite a distraction — not a very good start for me.”
The Abu Dhabi driver was referring to a time on the stage when he noticed Elfyn Evans’ car in flames after it had damaged its front right. Khalid stopped to help the Welshman but things were under control when Al Qasimi arrived.
“The first half of the morning was very slippery, more so because I had to open the stage. I am not taking any risks, just cruising along with the intent to bring home the car safely by the end of the event on Sunday.”
Khalid though was much happier with the first stage (SS11) of the second pass in the afternoon, saying: “Much better than this morning; there is lots of bedrock in the second half of the stage now.”
On Sunday, the final day of Rally de Portugal, Khalid and co-driver Chris Patterson decided they would just enjoy the moment on the “Fafe” stage, the famous test where around 100,000 spectators witnessed the Abu Dhabi pair execute some smart drifts and spectacular jumps.
