Kris Meeke and James Fulton has won the opening round of the Portuguese Rally Championship – Rally Serras Fafe.
The pair were a convincing winner of the event, finishing over a minute clear than Armindo Araújo’s Skoda Fabia Rally2. Marco Bulacia rounded out the top three in his Citroen C3 Rally2.
Meeke won the opening stage and never looked back as he claimed a 9.7s lead over Bulacia with Franco third fastest.
He then extended his lead on stages 2 & 3 and by the end of day 1 he had a 17.3s over Balucia.
Meeke also recorded scratch times on nine of the eleven special stages. Leading from start to finish with his Irish co-driver, no other driver could match Meeke’s pace.
Kris Meeke and James Fulton will remain with the Portugal Hyundai for the full season and contest the 2024 Portuguese championship.