Kris Meeke stamped his authority on the IRC by claiming his third successive victory with an amazing charge on the Ypres Rally, his first attempt at the famous Belgian event.

After a sustained attack, Kris took the lead by only 0.8s on SS12, and on the very next stage, 6 time winner and Peugeot Team-mate, Freddy Loix made a mistake and broke a wheel, dropping 1m50s while he stopped to change the wheel. Second place consequently went to the works Skoda of Jan Kopecky, the only man who could keep in touch with Meeke/Loix event long battle.

"It was incredibly close and I have to congratulate Jan Kopecky and Freddy for such a great battle," Kris said.

"When it's this close it's fantastic. To have three wins with only four rallies gone is great, and it's nice to have those points on the board but there's a long way to go yet. Ypres, though, has been an amazing experience."

Peugeot have selected to miss the next round in Russia, but aim to resume battle at Rally Maderia on the 30th July 2009.

Points


1. Kris Meeke (GB) 30 pt.

2. Freddy Loix (B) 24 pt.

3. Jan Kopecky (CZ) 21 pt.

4. Nicolas Vouilloz (F) 14 pt.

5. Giandomenico Basso (I) 11 pt.