Wales Rally GB: Kris Meeke finishes fourth with strong drive
- Published
Kris Meeke has five victories in the World Rally Championship
Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke has finished in fourth place in the World Rally Championship round at Wales Rally GB.
Meeke maintained his overnight position on Sunday's five stages.
The rally was won by Meeke's Toyota team-mate Ott Tanak, who extended his lead at the top of the WRC standings.
Hyundai's Thierry Neuville and Citroen's Sebastien Ogier completed the podium, with home favourite Elfyn Evans coming home in fifth position.
Evans, who won the rally in 2017, dropped over 40 seconds after running wide on Friday but posted five fastest stages times in an impressive recovery.
He edged out Hyundai's Andreas Mikkelsen in the battle for fifth place after a thrilling duel over the final loop of stages.
Meeke led for the majority of Friday before slipping to third, and was passed in the order by Neuville on Saturday's opening loop.
The 40-year-old put in a consistent run to maintain his position and stay in the hunt for the podium, but the Dungannon native had to settle for fourth and a collect a strong haul of points for Toyota.
Sweden's Pontus Tidemand finished seventh, ahead of Waterford's Craig Breen. who rolled on Saturday but was able to continue.
Tanak now leads by 28 points over six-time champion Ogier with two rounds remaining in Spain and Australia.
Highly-rated 19-year-old Kalle Rovanpera wrapped up the WRC2 Pro title after dominating the category, while 2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg won the WRC2 class on his final appearance before retirement.
In a changing of the guard, Petter's son Oliver posted several fastest R5 times on his WRC debut but failed to finish after being plagued with mechanical problems throughout the event.