Abu Dhabi: The Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team claimed a one-two finish in Rally Argentina at Carlos Paz on Sunday.
It was the team’s 29th one-two finish in the World Rally Championship and the first such result achieved by current driver line-up, Kris Meeke-Paul Nagle and Mads Østberg-Jonas Andersson. Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qasimi wrapped up his WRC debut for this season in sixth place overall with his co-driver Chris Patterson.
Citroën Racing has now won 10 of its last 11 appearances in Carlos Paz. This victory, built from the outset by Meeke, has been the perfect way to launch the DS brand in South America.
Having already set the joint fastest time in Wednesday’s shakedown, Meeke and Nagle only missed out on winning the first stage by 0.2 seconds. Having grabbed the lead after the treacherous SS2, the DS 3 WRC crew then controlled perfectly from the front on what is an incredibly difficult event.
Meeke maintained his lead to the end to take his first ever win in the World Championship, the first win by a British driver since Colin McRae prevailed at the 2002 Safari Rally. Meeke becomes the 74th driver to win a World Championship race and the fourth most successful Briton, after the late McRae (25 wins), Richard Burns (10) and Roger Clarke (1). Nagle is only the second Irish co-driver to win a WRC round after Ronan McNamee in 1989. For Citroën Racing, this is their 94th WRC win and their 29th one-two finish, both of which are new records!
As in Mexico, Østberg and Andersson collected a large haul of points as runners-up. After four rounds of the 2015 season, they now lie second in the World Championship standings, having also secured a bonus point in the Power Stage.
Thanks to the maximum points scored in this one-two finish, the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team now lie second in the Manufacturers’ standings.
Next up is Rally de Portugal on May 21-24. This year, the base for the event – still held on gravel – moves to Matosinhos, to the north of Porto.
