Kris Meeke becomes first ever British winner of Rally of Finland

Northern Ireland's Kris Meeke dashed the hopes of home favourite Jari-Matti Latvala by storming to victory in the Rally of Finland.

Meeke produced a dominant performance across the four-day world championship classic as he became the first Briton to win the rally.

The 37-year-old claimed a healthy margin of victory in his Citroen DS 3, finishing 29.1 seconds ahead of three-time winner Latvala in a VW Polo-R.

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.

Result:

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 driver standings:

1. Sebastien Ogier (FRA) 143pts, 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

World championship team standings:

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