Kris Meeke has vowed to return to Rali Vinho da Madeira with the sole aim of securing a redemption victory after his bad run of luck on the island event continued.
The Ulsterman completed Round Six of the Portuguese Rally Championship with Stuart Loudon – who was deputising for James Fulton due to his Rally Finland commitments – in 20th position.
Having dominated the first four rounds, Madeira was the second consecutive non-podium finish for the 44-year-old, meaning the wait for him to get his hands on the Championship title continues.
Any hopes of returning to form after mechanical misfortune on June’s Rali de Castelo Branco were dashed on the very first stage when his Hyundai i20 N Rally2 started filling with smoke, forcing him to pull over and park the car up and incurring a 10-minute penalty.
Things went from bad to worse on Friday’s opening stage – the six and a half miles of ‘Campo de Golfe 1’ – as the former World Rally Championship winner went off the road, luckily without incurring any serious damage.
He also revealed that persistent set-up and handling problems with his Team Hyundai Portugal-run car and asthmatic performance through the route’s many mountainous sections also hampered him.
At the finish, Meeke – who broke two ribs in a nasty accident at the same Club Sports da Madeira event in 2023 – struck a reflective tone, saying: “As we know, this is probably one of the most technical Tarmac rallies anywhere in the world, so it takes a bit of time to learn, especially when you are going up against guys who have been over these stages between recce and rally. It isn’t easy.
“I didn’t feel good in the car at any point during the weekend – it didn’t feel correct – but still, it is what it is.
“After Thursday night’s penalty, we took the experience and will look to come back next year with more information. It was a tricky weekend, but we got the mileage in for a crack at it in the future.
“On uphill sections, we struggled with the car – the engine seems weaker than the rest of the cars – and I struggled most of the weekend with the set-up before we found something for the final loop of stages that made it a bit more enjoyable.
“We had a really difficult start with the penalty, but what do you do? I would love to come back – but you need a machine that can work here.”
On only his second start at Rali Vinho da Madeira, Spaniard Diego Ruiloba recorded a hard-earned 3.7-second victory in his Citroen C3 Rally2 from the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 of Alexandre Camacho. Armindo Araujo (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) made it two Portuguese drivers in the top three in third.