Kris Meeke puts on the pressure at Ypres

Kris Meeke is ready for Day Two at Ypres

After Day One at the Ypres rally, Kris Meeke proved he’s a force to be reckoned with on tarmac by holding second place.

Having completed six stages of the IRC fifth round race, the Peugeot UK driver is now putting the pressure on Peugeot team-mate Freddie Loix who currently leads in Belgium.

It was an eventful first day amid challenging conditions at Ypres. Kris said: “The first day was exceptionally difficult. I didn’t appreciate how much the surface changes from kilometre to kilometre. Sometimes you go to brake and you start sliding. It’s so difficult to read the road - it all looks the same.”

The final stage of Day One was conducted in darkness, yet this didn’t deter Kris and co-driver Paul Nagle. Instead, the pair brought their 207 S2000 in for a third stage win of the day.

The pressure will be on today as the Ypres rally concludes with 10 final tarmac stages. It’s an event that Peugeot driver Freddie Loix has won five times. Yet with Kris and Paul winning the two previous rounds of the IRC series, in Brazil and the Azores, can the Peugeot UK team make it three wins in a row?

Kris adds: “Day Two will be like a new rally. We have to learn where the slippery sections are and see what happens.”

For all the latest on the IRC Ypres rally, sign up for our news alerts and watch our vodcast with Kris and Paul.

Overall results after Day One

POSITION	DRIVER	CAR	TIME
1	Freddie Loix	Peugeot 207	1h 03m 46.4s
2	Kris Meeke	Peugeot 207	+4.9s
3	Jan Kopecky	Skoda Fabia	+13.3s
4	Giandomenico Basso	Abarth Grande Punto	+56.9s
5	Juho Hanninen	Skoda Fabia	+57.1s

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