A little bit sideways Rallying in New Zealand, where we like to get A Little Bit Sideways! Up to date Rally News from teams around the country together with event reports.
Although the stages covered relatively few miles, the final leg of Rally Finland held the attention of the fans until the closing moments. Two of the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s C3 WRCs finished in the points, as Craig Breen/Scott Martin and Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle finished fifth and eighth respectively.
With two passes on Lempää (6.80km) and Oittila (10.12km), the third and final day of Rally Finland only made up 10% of the total competitive distance.
After getting his bearings on Lempää, Craig Breen was more aggressive on Oittila. Like many other drivers, however, he was caught out by the low-grip conditions and lost time after overshooting a junction. From that point onwards, the Irishman opted to secure fifth place.
Somewhat isolated in the overall standings between Tänak and Sordo, Kris Meeke also adopted a defensive approach to hold onto his eighth position. Suffering from a lack of confidence since the start of the rally, he took no risks to make sure he reached the end.
The Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT drivers were therefore not looking to contest the bonus points available for the top five in the Power Stage.
Craig Breen went on to take fifth place overall – his fifth of the season – taking him up to seventh in the Drivers’ World Championship. Having been stuck on the same points since he won Rally Mexico back in March, Kris Meeke’s championship tally increased again thanks to his eighth position. Meanwhile, Khalid Al Qassimi finished sixteenth.
