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Meeke’s bizarre Mexico finale

Kris Meeke admits the crazy few seconds when he dodged cars and trucks in a spectator car park left his chances of winning Rally Guanajuato Mexico in the ‘hands of the gods'.

With victory seemingly assured, his Citroën C3 plunged off the road into a spectator car park 750 metres from the finish of the final Power Stage yesterday afternoon.

In a classic comedy moment, the disoriented Ulsterman weaved in and out of parked vehicles as he desperately tried to find a way out of the field and protect his near-40 second lead (see video below).

He eventually found a hole in a hedge through which he regained the road. But still the drama was not over as he limped to the finish with a puncture, finally crossing the line with 13.8sec in hand over Sébastien Ogier to secure victory.

"I made a mistake, a big mistake," he said. "I braked and got the car too sideways through this fast right, and as I hit the compression it popped me out and we went into a field. After that I was in the hands of the Gods.

"I started to go through some trucks and they started to narrow up. I thought I was going to come to a dead end so I handbraked around a truck to go back the way I came, not knowing there was a way out until I saw a gap in the fence and went for it.

"I'm not particularly delighted with myself but we've won the rally, so I'm happy. I had no idea I'd won when I crossed the line but quickly people started shaking their fists and then I knew. I'm sure Yves Matton (team principal) will shake his fist at me later for a different reason!"

Meeke's victory means three different drivers and manufacturers have won the first three rounds of the new-era 2017 championship. After a miserable opening two rounds for Meeke, his fourth career victory was a relief.

"The most important thing is that we showed the potential of the C3. The frustrations of Monte-Carlo and Sweden rested on us all, everyone in the team was living through that. We lose together and we win together," he added.

Zdroj: wrc.com