Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle claimed their first WRC victory today at Rally Argentina, the DS 3 WRC crew heading a Citroën one-two for the first time since Rally Finland in 2012. The duo led the event for all but one stage and survived one of the most gruelling and dramatic rallies in recent memory with a virtually trouble-free run. Team-mates Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson finished just 18.1 seconds adrift and M-Sport’s Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt took their first podium in the Fiesta RS WRC.

In the FIA World Rally Championship, Sébastien Ogier continues to head the leaderboard, the Frenchman only able to salvage three Power Stage points from the fourth round of t

[caption id="attachment_3987" align="alignright" width="300"] Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle win Argentine round of the WRC. An FIA image[/caption]

he series. Østberg has moved into second position ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen, another driver forced into retirement after an accident in the final stage today. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Volkswagen collected just four points but tops the table with Citroën and Hyundai both just 18 points adrift.

Today the crews headed to one of the most famous stages in the Championship - El Condor - for two runs through this legendary 16.32 kilometre test. Meeke and Østberg got through the stage unscathed but the first victim of the day was Jari-Matti Latvala. Third last night, the Finn stopped four kilometres into the stage with a fuel supply problem, ending his hopes of another podium in Argentina and handing the position to Evans. Meeke’s smooth run through the Power Stage was enough to reward him with a fantastic victory and the accolade of becoming the first British driver to win a WRC event since Colin McRae on the 2002 Safari Rally.

Behind Østberg, Evans had a last-minute scare in the Power Stage, the Welshman dropped over a minute with broken rear suspension. Martin Prokop was elevated to fourth when Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville also crashed in the final stage, the Belgian having an identical accident to Mikkelsen. This equals his best WRC result. Dani Sordo finished fifth and Khalid Al Qassimi rounded off the top six. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari scored his first WRC points with seventh position and also won the FIA WRC 2 Championship category in his Ford Fiesta RRC.

The FIA World Rally Championship contenders now head back to Europe and an all-new route on the Porto-based Rally de Portugal (21-24 May).

XION Rally Argentina – Final Unofficial Results (subject to scrutineering)

1.   Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle
DS 3 WRC
3hr 41min 44.9sec

2.   Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson
DS 3 WRC
3hr 42min 03.0sec

3.   Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
3hr 45min 12.3sec

4.   Martin Prokop/Jan Tomanek
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
3hr 48min 11.0sec

5.   Dani Sordo/Marc Marti
Hyundai i20 WRC
3hr 52min 31.6sec

6.   Khalid Al Qassimi/Chris Patterson
DS 3 WRC
3hr 53min 04.8sec

7.   Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari/Marshall Clarke
Ford Fiesta RRC
3hr 57min 47.5sec

8.   Diego Dominguez/Edgardo Galindo
Ford Fiesta R5
4hr 00min 33.1sec

9.   Gustavo Saba/Diego Cagnotti
   Skoda Fabia S2000
   4hr 03min 05.5sec

10. Federico Villagra/Diego Curletto
    Ford Fiesta
    4hr 07min 04.5sec

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 4 of 13 rounds)

Sébastien Ogier (FRA)
84 points

Mads Østberg (NOR)
51 points

Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)
47 points

Elfyn Evans (GBR)
41 points

Kris Meeke (GBR)
35 points

Thierry Neuville (BEL)
35 points

Dani Sordo (ESP)
30 points

Martin Prokop (CZE)
26 points

Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN)
19 points

Ott Tanak (EST)
13 points

Hayden Paddon (NZL)
10 points

Khalid Al Qassimi (ARE)
8 points

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)
6 points

Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)
6 points

Sébastien Loeb (FRA)
6 points

Diego Dominguez (PRY)
4 points

Yurii Protasov (UKR)
2 points

Nicolas Fuchs (PER)
2 points

Gustavo Saba (PRY)
2 points

Jari Ketomaa (FIN)
1 point

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 4 of 13 rounds)

Volkswagen Motorsport
103 points

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
85 points

Hyundai Motorsport
85 points

M-Sport World Rally Team
71 points

Jipocar Czech National Team
32 points

Volkswagen Motorsport II
15 points

Hyundai Motorsport N
9 points

FWRT srl
3 points