IN THE HEADLINES

CITROEN STRUGGLES…

There was plenty of debate about Kris Meeke’s departure from Citroen between rounds six and seven. The French firm’s headline on its Saturday night press release spoke volumes: ‘Mads Ostberg now in contention for fourth place.’ Would it have managed more than a fifth and sixth for Mads Ostberg and Craig Breen (above) with Meeke? Impossible to say, but the ball would likely have been kicked a bit harder.

…TOYOTA TROUBLES

Toyota suffered a similarly troubled event to its French counterpart, with Rally Argentina winner Ott Tanak retiring for the second event in succession after damage sustained to the Yaris WRC (admittedly landing the car on its nose over a particularly vicious jump didn’t help), while Jari-matti Latvala ran out of juice after an electrical issue, which may or may not have been caused by a rock impacting underneath the car. Esapekka Lappi made the podium for the first time this season with third.

PADDEN FOURTH

Despite still feeling the effects of his hefty Portuguese shunt, Hayden Paddon helped Hyundai ease further clear of M-sport in the makes’ race with fourth place. Gearbox problems ruled Andreas Mikkelsen out.

KOPECKY’S WRC2 WIN

A third WRC2 win of the season earned Jan Kopecky a shot at this year’s WRC2 title with the factory Skoda team. The Fabia R5 driver confirmed he would take on a full programme on the back of his class win on Sunday. Ole Christian Veiby made it a one-two for the team.

FRANCESCHI’S WRC3

Jean-baptiste Franceschi scored a fine WRC3 class win in his Ford Fiesta R2T. Caught out by a Sunday morning boulder, he nursed his motor through the final two days with damaged steering.