SS6 - Meeke claims his hat-trick

Stage six of this year’s Vodafone Rally de Portugal marked the hat-trick of wins for Kris Meeke. After the chaos of the previous stage, when Hayden Paddon’s car rolled and caught fire, Meeke and later drivers were forced to drive slowly through the stage.

However, nothing of the sort for the next; Meeke said he had to use his tyres hard as they were new for this stage and he didn't disappoint. He went through the stage more than three seconds faster than Sebastien Ogier, with both drivers complaining about how rough the stage was.

However, Meeke described the level of grip as impressive, despite the roughness and the depth of the ruts.

Third fastest was Dani Sordo in the Hyundai, clearly revelling in the conditions despite the roughness. Jari-Matti Latvala continued to have power steering problems, dropping a minute with no assistance.

Overall times are yet to be worked-out, following the cancelation of the previous stage but Meeke will have extended his lead, having won another stage.