Impressive in the early stages of the rally, Mads Østberg headed the overall standings between SS3 and SS6 on Friday. After rejoining Sunday morning under Rally 2 rules, the Norwegian continued to drive at a strong pace, securing two stage wins.
On day two, the crew ran into difficulties when they broke part of the suspension on their car. Despite their attempts to repair the damage, they failed to arrive on time for the start of the next stage.
After rejoining Sunday morning under Rally 2 rules, the Norwegian continued to drive at a strong pace, securing two stage wins, firstly on the longest stage of the rally, the 56 kilometre-long Guanajuatito, and then on Derramadero.
Having moved back into the top 10, Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson ended up scoring two points. They therefore remain in third place in the Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championships.
Ninth overall this morning, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle ran into trouble after hitting a rock on the Power Stage and were unable to complete the rally.
QUOTES
Mads Østberg: “There are many positives we can take from the rally. We clearly have the speed. We showed that we are able to match the pace of the best crews. Today’s final leg has given us the opportunity to work on preparations for the upcoming events. Apart from one unfortunate corner, it was a very good rally. I’m really pleased to finish the rally with a couple of stage wins. I am convinced that we have improved this week. We know a lot more now than we did at the start of the rally. We have some very solid foundations we can build on in our tests for the Rally de Portugal.”
Kris Meeke: “I feel like I have made a huge amount of progress in terms of understanding the Citroën DS3 WRC and the pace to adopt in the stages. It’s very disappointing not to finish the rally. On the Power Stage, I had good pace notes and I was on the right line, but I hit a rock on the inside of a corner. I was first on the road, so I couldn’t avoid it. Not making it to the finish is very frustrating even if there are lots of positives that we can take away from this rally.”
Yves Matton (Citroën Racing Team Principal): “Obviously, it’s a disappointing result when you know the potential of our team, the Citroën DS3 WRCs and our crews. Once again Mads showed, however, that he was capable of matching the best drivers. He was one of the quickest drivers throughout the weekend. He is improving consistently and quickly, which is highly encouraging for the next few events. As regards Kris, obviously it was tough for him competing in such a difficult rally for the first time. We knew our crews were relatively inexperienced. We’ve probably paid the price for that today, but that takes nothing away from their potential.”
FINAL PROVISIONAL STANDINGS
1. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) 4:27:41.8
2. Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +1:12.6
3. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC) +5:28.6
4. Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +6:49.3
5. Martin Prokop / Jan Tomanek (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +9:54.4
6. Benito Guerra / Borja Rozada (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +12:57.6
7. Chris Atkinson / Stéphane Prévot (Hyundai i20 WRC) +15:15.4
8. Mikko Hirvonen / Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +17:06.8
9. Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson (Citroën DS3 WRC) +25:41.6
10. Yuriy Protasov / Pavlo Cherepin (Ford Fiesta R5) +28:18.2