Kris Meeke has gone fastest on stage nine of Wales Rally GB in his MINI John Cooper Works WRC.
In deteriorating weather conditions the British driver was 1.0s faster than Ford pilot Jari-Matti Latvala, who has trimmed Sebastien Loeb’s overall lead to 10.6s.
“I’m quite happy to be honest,” said Meeke. “It was a lot more slippery than this morning but it was easier to judge the grip. The car is working well.”
With title rival Mikko Hirvonen retiring this morning, Loeb has adopted a more cautious approach and settled for the fifth quickest time in his Citroen.
Mads Ostberg continues to head Petter Solberg in the battle for the final podium spot after beating his fellow Norwegian through the stage.
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 58m57.4s |
| 02 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +10.6s |
| 03 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m00.4s |
| 04 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +1m13.8s |
| 05 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m44.9s |
| 06 | O. TÄNAK / K. SIKK | FORD Fiesta RS WRC | +2m04.9s |
| 07 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +2m24.0s |
| 08 | K. RÄIKKÖNEN / K. LINDSTRÖM | Citroën DS3 WRC | +2m38.1s |
| 09 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +2m49.4s |
| 10 | E. NOVIKOV / D. GIRAUDET | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +2m59.3s |
| 11 | K. MEEKE / P. NAGLE | MINI WRC | +3m13.9s |
| 12 | K. BLOCK / A. GELSOMINO | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +3m34.2s |
| 13 | K. ABBRING / L. VANNESTE | SKODA Fabia S2000 | +4m23.9s |
| 14 | A. ARAÚJO / M. RAMALHO | MINI WRC | +4m40.3s |
| 15 | H. PADDON / J. KENNARD | SUBARU Impreza R4 | +4m57.9s |