Latest news with #TeamHyundaiPortugal
Belfast Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
‘It was a crazy rally' – Kris Meeke overcomes conditions for third straight win in Portugal
Meeke was caught out by the muddy road conditions three miles into the last stage of the event to see his nine-second lead over Team Hyundai Portugal's Dani Sordo evaporate. Incredibly, moments after Sordo had inherited top spot, he gave the position back again when he punctured the left-rear wheel on his Team Hyundai Portugal-run i20 N Rally2. It meant Meeke's 13th career victory on Portuguese soil was achieved by a margin of 27.6 seconds over Sordo, with Armindo Araujo rounding out the podium spots in third. Prior to the mistake on 'Aboboreira 2', Meeke had worked hard to keep a determined Sordo at arm's length, with scratch times on six of the 10 gravel speed tests helping his cause. Once again, fellow former World Rally Championship driver Sordo was the main thorn in the Dungannon man's side, as the challenge of WRC2 frontrunner Yohan Rossel (Citroen C3 Rally2) failed to materialise, while Martins Sesks — who entered the gravel meeting as a warm-up for Rally de Portugal next weekend — retired his Ford Fiesta Rally2 on stage five. 'Three out of three in the Portuguese Championship is special and three-times a winner in d'Aboboreira is also pretty nice, but the circumstances here this weekend — especially the weather just before the final stage — was crazy with torrential rain leaving the stage full mud,' said Meeke. 'I made a mistake, I spun, and I had to reverse 150 metres up the road. 'When I got going again I knew that my overall advantage was gone. I tried to push as hard as I could, but in those conditions, it was so slippery — you just can't imagine how slippery it was. I was aquaplaning quite a lot and I would even say it was scary at times. 'I really tried and unfortunately for Dani he picked up a puncture halfway through, so we took the win after what I can only describe as a crazy rally. As a team we have a lot of work to do between now and Rally de Portugal, especially the Hankook tyre we will be using.' Despite the last-minute drama taking a little of the shine off Meeke's achievement, he still spoke highly of the professionalism of the organising Club Automovel de Amarante and the areas the route passed through, including Amarante, Marco de Canaveses, and Baião. 'I enjoyed the event a lot, honestly,' said Meeke. 'This region, I have always said it and I will say it again: this is one of my favourite places in the world to come and drive a rally car.'
Belfast Telegraph
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Kris Meeke reveals why it will be difficult to maintain perfect start to Portuguese Championship
Round three of the Championship welcomes back Latvian Martins Sesks in a Ford Fiesta Rally2, while Frenchman Yohan Rossel leads the 68-car field in a Citroen C3 Rally2. While neither are registered to score points — they are entering the event as a warm-up for Rally de Portugal (May 15-18), the fifth round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship — they possess the speed, and race craft, to bring Meeke's winning streak to a quick end. 'It has been great to start the season with two wins so far, and we want to keep it up,' said Meeke. 'However, this rally usually brings some WRC2 drivers who take advantage of the event to test, like Martins, who was very fast in Fafe, and Johan, who comes to the event on the back of a WRC2 win at last weekend's Rally Islas Canarias. 'The competition will be strong, but our focus is on the Portuguese Rally Championship.' The Dungannon man was victorious at Rali Serras de Fafe by just over half a minute from the Hyundai i20 N of Team Hyundai Portugal's Dani Sordo at the beginning of March and repeated the trick three weeks later, beating the Spaniard in the Algarve by 13.3 seconds. Meeke's path to a 12th career victory on Portuguese soil will take him and co-driver Stuart Loudon through special stages in the Amarante, Marco de Canaveses and Baião areas, with three of these making up Friday's itinerary and a further seven on Saturday. The 45-year-old will be looking to get off on the right foot in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 this time around as, 12 months ago, he crashed and rolled on shakedown after hitting a rock. As well as increased competition from Sesks and Rossel, and punishing gravel roads, the weather is another factor Meeke has one eye on. Heavy rain is forecast for the opening day of the meeting and given the altitude some of the roads climb to, fog could be a factor. He said: 'I like challenges, and I really enjoy those northern stages. I have mixed memories of last year — we made a mistake in qualifying, but managed to recover and win the rally, so this year we want it to be sweet, not bittersweet. 'It looks like the weather could complicate matters, with heavy rain forecast for the shakedown and the first day of the rally. With the altitude, that could bring fog, just like last year.'
