Palletforce’s global and British brand ambassadors celebrated a successful sporting weekend after claiming top finishes in both the World and British Rally Championships.
Global brand ambassador Kris Meeke sealed his best finish of the year after taking fourth place at Rally Argentina. Meeke had been one of the fastest drivers all weekend and missed out on the final podium place by just over a second after being slowed by a punctured tyre on the final competitive stage.
Behind the wheel of his Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris WRC car, Meeke made the perfect start going fastest on the second stage and swiftly moved into the rally lead – only to drop further back after some technical problems.
Meeke again set a string of top times during Saturday’s action and, despite two damaged tyres after colliding with a rock, he fought back with a strong performance on the other stages and finished the day in third place after battling back up the leader-board.
The stage was set for a stunning finale on Sunday high in the mountains above Mina Clavero, famed for its spectacular landscape and packed with 100,000 fans. Meeke edged further ahead of current world champion Sebastien Ogier but on the final test he picked up a puncture and dropped out of third place by just 1.4 seconds.
Although disappointed not to secure his first podium with the Toyota team, it was his best finish of the season and moves the Northern Irish driver up to fourth in the championship standings. The next event is in neighbouring Chile in two weeks’ time, the first time the country has hosted a WRC round.
Kris Meeke said: “We had lots of different problems this weekend, including three punctures, and still finished just a minute back from the winner. We have the pace, we have the speed and have shown that on every rally this year. The consistency will come and we will continue to fight for that first podium this year.
Meanwhile in the UK, British rally star David Bogie finished third on the gruelling Pirelli Rally in Carlisle. Held in the infamous Kielder Forest, Bogie had to contend with high-speed, narrow forest roads lined with deep ditches to catch out anyone that overstepped the mark.
He struggled with confidence and wasn’t fully at ease in the slippery conditions, but still posted a number of leading times throughout the one-day event to finish third and collect another podium. The result keeps him firmly in contention for the title and one of the championship favourites.
David Bogie said: “It wasn’t really the result we wanted but another podium finish keeps us right up there in the championship battle. I just couldn’t get a comfortable feeling with the car all day, you get rallies like that where things just don’t flow for you. So, we just had to collect what we could from the rally and it keeps us in a strong third position in the championship battle.”
