JYVASKYLA, Finland: Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke won the Rally of Finland on Sunday, shattering the hopes of home favorite Jari-Matti Latvala.

In his Citroen DS 3, Meeke, 37, the first Briton to win the rally, led almost throughout the four-day world championship classic to finish 29.10sec ahead of three-times winner Latvala in a VW Polo-R.

Ireland’s Craig Breen, also in a Citroen, was 1min 41.3sec off the pace in third place, his first podium finish.

World championship leader Sebastien Ogier lost hope of victory after he went off the track early in the race. He finished well down the field but still holds on to his overall championship lead.

Results

1. Kris Meeke (GB/Citroen DS3) 2:38:05.8,2. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN/Volkswagen Polo-R at 29.1sec,3. Craig Breen (IRL/Citroen DS3) 1:41.3, 4. Thierry Neuville (BEL/Hyundai i20) 1:45.9, 5. Hayden Paddon (NZL/Hyundai i20) 1:48.2, 6. Mads Ostberg (NOR/Ford Fiesta RS) 2:04.6, 7. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR/VW Polo-R) 2:22.4, 8. Esapekka Lappi (FIN/Skoda Fabia R5) 4:53.8, 9. Kevin Abbring (NED/Hyundai i20) 5:22.4, 10. Teemu Suninen (FIN/Skoda Fabia R5) 5:35.5

World championship standings:

Drivers:

1. Sebastien Ogier (FRA) 143 pts, 2. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) 98, 6. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) 87, 4. Hayden Paddon (NZL) 84,5. Thierry Neuville (BEL) 76,6. Mads Ostberg (NOR) 70,7. Dani Sordo (SP) 68, 8. Ott Tänak (EST) 52, 9. Kris Meeke (GB) 51,10. Craig Breen 25

Teams:

1. Volkswagen Motorsport 227 pts, 2. Hyundai Motorsport 168, 3. M-Sport (Ford)112, 4. VW Motorsport 2 109, 5. Hyundai Motorsport ‘2’ 86, 6. Dmack (Ford) 58