The Briton, who missed the previous two WRC rounds in the Americas, led for all but the first of the 19 speed tests to win the four-day rough road event in northern Portugal by 29.7sec in Citroen’s DS3 yesterday. It was his second world success after triumphing in Argentina last year.
The 36-year-old Meeke became the fourth different winner in five WRC rounds this season, following Sebastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Hayden Paddon onto the top step of the WRC podium.
He took the lead in the second stage on Friday and remained troublefree on the rocky mountain roads in the north of the country, making the most of clean conditions courtesy of a low start position.
An elated Meeke said: “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.”
Meeke, who is driving a part-WRC programme as Citroen develops a new car for 2017, added: “Before the start, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Although I’ve done a lot of testing over the last few weeks, I was clearly short of competitive mileage. But I managed to drive quickly and led pretty much from start to finish.
“I was cautious again today, as there were quite a lot of embedded rocks on Fafe, especially on the second pass. It really is a very special feeling to win here.
“There aren’t too many drivers that have won a WRC rally, but there are even fewer who have won two! We’re now going to try and build on this result for the next few races and especially in 2017 to be compete at the highest level!”
After an overly-cautious opening day, a rejuvenated Andreas Mikkelsen upped his pace to grab second from team-mate and championship leader Sebastien Ogier.
The Abu Dhabi Total WRT will now focus on the next event, Rally Poland from June 30 to July 3.
