Abu Dhabi/ Paviljonki: Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team crew Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle were third overall in the Rally Finland in their DS3 WRC before winning SS7 of day two, closing the gap on Sebastien Ogier by 4.4 seconds.
The opening stage offered a mix of fast and technical sections, which started on a wide road in a protected historical area, and the first 9.6km were typical fast Finnish roller-coaster roads before becoming narrower towards the finish.
Despite wind and heavy rains during the race, Meeke coped very well.
He was second fastest on the opening stage and ended the day in the top three, less than ten seconds behind the leader, having already established a sizeable lead over his nearest challengers.
Less pleased with his times, Mads Østberg attempted to improve his set-up without managing to make up much ground on the frontrunners. He headed back to Jyväskylä in seventh place overall, determined to buck the trend quickly with the help of his technical team.
“I’m pleased to be right in the middle of the fight for first place. For the time being, my goal is not to try and win stages. I hope I can get to the end of the rally without any problems, whilst staying in touch with the leaders. I feel that I’m improving and things are coming together. The new stages tomorrow are going to be very interesting,” said Meeke after the race.
Østberg said: “I was quite happy during the first few kilometers, but the times didn’t bear out my feeling in the car. We tried to adjust the set-up between each stage without really finding a solution. Obviously, I’m disappointed with today’s leg, although I know there’s still a long way to go in the rally. We’ll just have to work our way up the standings.”
