Kris Meeke: Puncture setback for Citroen driver in Tour de Corse

Kris Meeke is racing a reduced schedule for Citroen this year

Kris Meeke's hopes of securing a third World Rally Championship success of the season suffered a major setback when he suffered a puncture on stage three of the Tour de Corse on Friday.

Meeke, 37, who had been lying second overall, re-started after changing his wheel, but lost almost two and a half minutes to leader Sebastien Ogier.

Meeke recovered to post the second quickest time on stage four.

The Citroen DS3 driver from Dungannon lies 11th after the opening day.

Frenchman Ogier won all four stages on Friday and takes a 44-second lead over nearest challenger, Belgian Thierry Neuville, into the second day, with Finn Jari-Matti Latvala third.

Volkswagen driver Ogier is aiming for a fourth consecutive world title and a fourth win of the current season.

Meeke's Citroen team-mate, Irishman Craig Breen, is in a creditable fifth position on the leaderboard.

Meeke has already tasted victory in Portugal and Finland this year but is only taking in selected rounds of the championship as his team concentrate on developing a new car for next season.