Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke drops out of ninth place on the final stage

There were mixed results for the two British drivers in Rally Mexico, one of the most physically demanding rounds of the World Rally Championship (WRC) with the longest stages on the calendar and in-car temperatures reaching up to 40°C.

Welshman Elfyn Evans and co-driver Daniel Barritt had a sensational drive to finish the rally in fourth despite it being their first time in this challenging event. Evans posted 20 top-ten times out of a possible 22 to achieve his best-ever WRC result as he fought for a podium on the high-altitude stages. It was a mature drive from the 25-year old, keeping his M-Sport run Ford Fiesta RS WRC on the road while other more experienced drivers, including ex-F1 driver Robert Kubica, crashed out.

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Kris Meeke had a fantastic start to the rally running in fourth on his first attempt at Rally Mexico but hit a rock on Friday, damaging the suspension. Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle restarted the rally on Saturday under Rally 2 rules and battled to ninth position in the Mexican heat, taking their first stage win on Special Stage 18. However luck was not on their side and they hit a rock again on the very last stage, the Power Stage, ending their rally early.

Reigning World Champion Sébastien Ogier was the victor with team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala in second for a Volkswagen one-two. Thierry Neuville took third giving Hyundai, WRC’s newest manufacturer, their first podium finish.

Britons Meeke and Evans return to action in Rally de Portugal, 03 – 06 April. The WRC season culminates with the only British round, Wales Rally GB on 13 – 16 November 2014. Both drivers are already looking forward to competing in their home event and World Rally Passes are on sale now at www.walesrallygb.com.Elfyn Evans said: “I certainly didn’t come here expecting to finish fourth – simply to finish would have been an achievement given how little experience we have on these kinds of stages and how many of the top drivers were caught out! “We put in some strong performances on some individual stages and identified a few areas for improvement as the weekend went on. It’s all part of the learning curve and we’re really looking forward to Portugal.”

Kris Meeke said: “I feel like I have made a huge amount of progress in terms of understanding the Citroën DS3 WRC and the pace to adopt in the stages. It’s very disappointing not to finish the rally. On the Power Stage, I had good pace notes and I was on the right line, but I hit a rock on the inside of a corner. I was first on the road, so I couldn’t avoid it. Not making it to the finish is very frustrating even if there are lot of positives that take away from this rally.”