The British Kris Meeke (Citroën DS3) made history by achieving his first victory in the World Rally Championship in the XION Rally Argentina 2015 organized by the Automobile Club Argentina. His teammate Mads Ostberg (Citroën DS3) and Elfyn Evans (Ford Fiesta RS) completed the podium.

The 35th edition of the most exciting and challenging rally of the planet had all kinds of surprises, and once again met the expectations created before. The 12 special stages of this year were a real challenge for the best drivers in the world and it was reflected in the results: only four of the 13 WRC were able to complete all the kilometers.

Once again, the stages were full of spectators, from the start with the Super Special Stage in the city of Merlo, Province of San Luis, until the closure in the Power Stage disputed in El Cóndor (Córdoba). This confirmed the success of the XION Rally Argentina and the incomparable passion of Argentine fans.

Meeke, Ostberg, Evans and Martin Prokop (Ford Fiesta RS) had steady pace and conductive maturity to be the only ones to complete all the stages, though the British driver of Citroen had a plus that allowed him to get the first win in his career in the WRC.

Meeke captured the lead of the competition and got a good gap with the rest after winning three of the five SS disputed on Friday. He was intelligent to manage that advantage in the following days. Ostberg was his biggest rival because he was the only one who pushed him to the final meters. Despite the Norwegian’s efforts, he couldn’t reach his teammate and had to settle with the second place. The Citroen Total Abu Dhabi WRT returns to Europe with a fantastic 1-2.

After two legendary drivers as Richard Burns (2000) and Colin McRae (2001), Meek turned in the third British driver in getting a victory in Argentina for WRC. He also dedicated his triumph to McRae due to their friendship and trust in his driving ability.

Evans’ performance is also highlighted. M-Sports World Rally Team driver’s took advantage of the problems suffered by Volkswagen and Hyundai competitors and achieved the third place on the overall and his first time on the WRC podium. Martin Prokop, who also drives a Ford Fiesta RS, ended the rally in the fourth place, arriving in the same position as he did in Rally Argentina 2012 and conquered his best result in the WRC for the third time in his career.

Kris Meeke:​ “I dedicate this to Colin McRae because he helped me so much at the beginning of my career. When others didn’t believe in me, he did. He took me under his wing and helped me a lot, without this it would not have been possible. Citröen gave a very strong car, we had small issues but not a big problem”.

Consolation prize for Ogier and Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Motorsport won eight out of the twelve stages run, however, none of the drivers had the honor to get on the podium. The two time Champion Ogier could not complete the first day and was out of the fight. For this reason, Ogier’s new goal was to win the Power Stage El Cóndor (SS12) and he got it.

The Frenchman was awarded three important points and he gets back the old continent keeping the lead of the Championship. Behind Ogier come Dani Sordo (Hyundai i20) with 2 points and Mads Ostberg with one point respectively.

His teammate Andreas Mikkelsen, who was another favorite to win the rally, was not able to complete the second rally day because of technical problems and he was forced to quit to his chances of fighting for the win. Mikkelsen won three consecutive stages on Saturday and On Sunday, he got another partial win, even though on Sunday, he hit a rock while running the Power Stage and retired automatically.

On the other hand, the last Argentina Rally winner, Jari-Matti Latvala, was the only Volkswagen representative who arrived to the last stage on Friday with chances of fighting for the top position. However, before the Super Special FERNET BRANCA (SSS6), Latvala had some problems with the Volkswagen Polo R gearbox and lost very important points.

With chances of regaining a second position on the two last stages of Sunday, Latvala was determined to attack the SS11. Unfortunately, He had problems with the fuel supply to the cylinder on the first stage and he had to retired the competition.

Hyundai in the TOP 5 

Hyundai Motorsport leaves Argentina with a bitter sweet feeling.  Although Hyndai Motorsport got a fifth position with Dani Sordo, this South Korean crew was very close to get to the podium. On Saturday, just one stage before the end of the day, the Spanish driver was 36s8 from the third when a mechanical problem did not allow him to start SS10.

His teammate Thierry Neuville was fourth in the overall, but during the Power Stage, he hit the same rock that Latvala hit before and had to retire as well. Sordo was able to get some point in the overall and finished among the top five.

WRC2
Like in 2013, the driver from Qatar, Abdulaziz Al Kuwari won again the WRC2. Abdulaziz was followed by Diego Domínguez and the Finn Jari Ketomaa.

XION Rally Argentina 2015Provisional Overall Classification
1) Kris Meeke (Citroën DS3), 3h41m44s9
2) Mads Ostberg (Citroën DS3), +18s1
3) Elfyn Evans (Ford Fiesta RS), +3m27s4
4) Martin Pokop (Ford Fiesta RS), +6m26s1
5) Dani Sordo (Hyundai i20), +10m46s7

Stages won per driver
Sébatien Ogier: (SSS1, SS7 and SS12)
Kris Meeke: (SS2, SS4 and SS5)
Jari-Matti Latvala: (SS3)
Dani Sordo: (SSS6, SS8)
Andreas Mikkelsen: (SS8, SS9, SS10 and SS11)