Dungannon's Kris Meeke and his Killarney native navigator Paul Nagle guided their Citroen DS3 to a second WRC victory in Portugal.

The pairing are only competing on selected rounds this season as their Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing team are developing a new car for the 2017 season. Meeke and Nagle took their first WRC win in Argentina last year and signed a new long term contract in the off season securing their futures at the team.
Making use of a favourable road position on the unforgiving Portuguese roads, Meeke and Nagle hit the front on stage two of the event, building up their lead steadily all through Friday. With an overnight lead of just over 31 seconds, the pair extended their advantage on Saturday, adding another 15 seconds to their lead over reigning World Rally Champion, Sebastien Ogier.

A sensible approach over the closing stages on Sunday saw Meeke and Nagle lose some of their advantage as they drove to protect their lead, raising the car up slightly and carrying an extra spare wheel as a precaution. The pair crossed the finish line of the final stage to take the win by a comfortable 29.7 seconds from Norwegian driver Andreas Mikkelsen with Ogier taking the final spot on the podium.

“It was nearly a perfect weekend, a text book performance. It’s another step for me as a driver. This year is all about gathering experience and I couldn’t have done any more. We’ll use these rallies this year for our benefit and try to mount a title challenge next year,” said Meeke afterwards.