New Rally. New Generation.

7 Mar 2009

After SS13: Meeke wins!

British driver Kris Meeke (pictured) has won the Curitiba Rally in style, with a victory margin of 26.2 seconds. "It´s been a fantastic event: probably the best rally I have ever done!" said the Peugeot UK pilot at the finish. He set joint fastest-time on the final stage with Peugeot Belgium´s Nicolas Vouilloz, who was second on the rally, while Abarth´s Giandomenico Basso was third.

Meeke claimed all seven stages on the opening day of the rally and then controlled his advantage on the second day to end up with a 26.2 second margin over Peugeot Belgium’s Nicolas Vouilloz, who finished second.

“This is one of the best rallies I have ever experienced,” added Meeke. “From start to finish, it was simply awesome. The stages are just incredible: so enjoyable to drive. I had a really good feeling with the car and the team and at the end of it we got the perfect result.”

The rally finish, at the Curitiba circuit in Brazil, was immediately followed by the qualifying session for the opening round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Freddy Loix now leads the championship on a total of 13 points, ahead of Kris Meeke, Sebastien Ogier and Giandomenico Basso - who are all tied for second on 10 points. Nicolas Vouilloz is third in the standings with eight points.

Overall results after SS13:

1 Meeke 2h08m05.7s
2 Vouilloz +26.2s
3 Basso +47.9s
4 Loix +2m32.1s
5 Cancio +5m20.0s
6 Tulio +19m04.0s