Meeke describes Rally Portugal win as "textbook"

Meeke and his team Citroen is only present in WRC as a part-time entry this year, as the manufacturer is focusing on developing its 2017-spec car.

Having only scored once so far, the Northern Irishman started the Friday and Saturday stages 13th on the road and was leading by a minute by Day 2.

He had a faultless run for the rest of the rally, and safely made it to the end in the lead, beating Volkswagen duo Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Ogier.

"It’s been a near-perfect event – textbook, really," said Meeke. "I have to say a huge thank you to my team – especially my engineer, who I know put in a tremendous amount of work for this event.

"The road position was advantageous, for sure, but you can only drive the roads that are in front of you and I know I couldn’t have done any more.

"Before the start, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Although I’ve done a lot of testing over the last few weeks, I was clearly short of competitive mileage.

"But I managed to drive quickly and led pretty much from start to finish, managing my lead from Saturday afternoon onwards.

"I was cautious again [on Sunday], as there were quite a lot of embedded rocks on Fafe, especially on the second pass. It really is a very special feeling to win here."

Second win just as important as first

Meeke outlined the importance of proving his maiden win, taken in Argentina last year, was no fluke by winning again.

"This was a lot more simple and like anything in life, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

"A lot of people say the first win is a monkey off your back, but I think the second one is.

"I think there were six drivers in the championship before this rally with one win. It is quite easy to call one victory a fluke, but to back it up with number two for me really is the monkey off my back."