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Tag: Ott Tanak

  • Ott Tanak leads in Greece as WRC title rivals suffer

    Ott Tanak leads in Greece as WRC title rivals suffer

    Ott Tänak overtook a wounded Sébastien Ogier to lead EKO Acropolis Rally Greece on Friday evening, capping an eventful day that could significantly impact this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title race.

    Greece’s notoriously rugged gravel roads lived up to their punishing reputation, with four of the championship’s top-five drivers encountering trouble and dropping significant time. Tänak, however, piloted his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 through the chaos unscathed, topping a commanding Hyundai 1-2-3 overnight.

    Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, who started this rally second in the points, was left 11.7sec clear of Tänak when M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux retired from second due to a broken steering arm on SS4. But disaster struck Ogier late in the day when a turbocharger issue cost the Frenchman around two-and-a-half minutes and relegated him to fourth.

    Ogier’s misfortune compounded a disastrous day for Toyota. Team-mate Elfyn Evans dropped nearly nine minutes earlier in the day with a similar turbo issue, while Takamoto Katsuta retired on SS3 with rear suspension damage after mis-hearing a pacenote.

    Explaining the situation, Toyota technical director Tom Fowler said: “It looks like Séb has lost the boost pressure from the turbocharger. We had Elfyn’s car this morning with the same symptoms.

    “It’s a huge disappointment because, clearly, it’s another rally after Finland where we have really strong performance in the car. In Finland we didn’t capitalise on that, and it looks like here, again, we’re not going to capitalise on the potential performance that both the car and the drivers have.”

    In stark contrast, Hyundai celebrated as Tänak led i20 N Rally1 colleagues Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville by 21.8 and 45.2sec respectively. As it stands, the Korean marque is poised to extend its advantage in the manufacturers’ championship.

    “We’ve got to be thankful for a trouble-free day. It’s been tough with the heat and the rough conditions,” said Tänak, who currently sits third in the drivers’ standings. “It’s been a great day for Hyundai, but we all know there’s more to come.”

    Sordo, making his first appearance since Rally Italia Sardegna in June, faced challenges of his own, managing a faulty hybrid unit throughout much of the afternoon. Championship leader Neuville also encountered issues, nursing an engine problem in the morning that left his car running on reduced power, but crucially headed Ogier by 1min 41.2sec overnight.

    Elsewhere, M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster was forced to stop for a wheel change on SS6, allowing WRC2 frontrunners Robert Virves and Sami Pajari to climb to fifth and sixth overall. The pair also moved ahead of Yohan Rossel, who had dominated the WRC2 category in the morning before losing time due to a puncture.

    Munster ended the day seventh with Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Fabrizio Zaldivar and Nikolay Gryazin rounding out the top 10.

    The WRC2 battle culminated in Friday’s final stage when Estonian star Virves vaulted from fourth to first, snatching the lead after heartbreak struck Yohan Rossel.

    Rossel, driving a Citroën C3 Rally2, dominated the day’s early stages, posting fastest times on the first five tests and building a commanding 46.5sec lead over his closest WRC2 rival. However, his fortunes took a dramatic turn on the Tarzan test when he was forced to stop after 11.9km to change a wheel, losing more than two minutes and tumbling to sixth in the standings.

    Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Virves had been lying fourth before the final stage, but a sensational time — 11.1sec faster than anyone else — propelled him into the overnight lead, just 1.5sec ahead of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 ace Sami Pajari.

    Remarkably, Virves wasn’t even expecting to compete in Greece just weeks ago. A crowdfunding campaign raised more than €50,000 from Estonian fans, enabling the 24-year-old to take part in the event.

    With two days remaining of this FIA Junior WRC season, it is Romet Jürgenson with one hand tentatively placed on the championship trophy, completing Friday at the double-points paying EKO Acropolis Rally Greece in second place and importantly with breathing space over his closest title rivals.

    Aiming to become the second Estonian to lift the trophy in the past three seasons, following in the footsteps of 2022 champion Robert Virves, Jürgenson safely navigated his M-Sport Ford-prepared Ford Fiesta Rally3 through some of the roughest Acropolis stages in recent memory, leading for large portions of the day.

    But with his closest rivals for the title sitting further down the leaderboard, Jürgenson took a conservative approach to the second running of Tarzan, giving up the lead to reigning FIA Junior ERC champion Norbert Maior, who is targeting a maiden victory at world level.

    Saturday’s leg promises more challenges, with six stages covering 116.23km on the unforgiving roads south of Lamia.

  • Ott Tanak shines on Rally Sardinia’s opening leg

    Ott Tanak shines on Rally Sardinia’s opening leg

    Sardenga, 4 June 2021: Ott Tänak delivered a near-perfect performance to lead Hyundai Motorsport team-mate Dani Sordo after Friday’s punishing opening leg at Rally Italia Sardegna.

    Tänak won five of the eight sun-kissed and rocky speed tests in his i20 World Rally Car to build a handy 19.0sec advantage over his Spanish colleague in this fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

    After dominating the previous round in Portugal only to retire from the lead, the Estonian was fastest out of the blocks on the Mediterranean holiday island. He won all four morning speed tests to lead by 16.9sec.

    A fifth straight win was followed by a brace of second fastest times. His only blot on the day was a delaminated front left tyre in the closing test, which cost a handful of seconds.

    Sordo, chasing a third consecutive Sardinia success, was hampered by minor problems this morning but hit top form later. He traded places with championship leader Sébastien Ogier before reeling off three fastest times to end the day 16.8sec clear of the Frenchman’s Toyota Yaris.

    Ogier was delighted with his drive. Expecting a day of damage limitation after starting first on sandy roads where grip was at its lowest, he briefly held second but was unable to match the Hyundais and ended 36.2sec off the lead.

    Elfyn Evans ended a frustrating day in fourth in his Yaris. The Welshman was out of sorts this morning and languished in sixth, but better pace this afternoon enabled the winner of the previous round in Portugal to recover. He ended more than a minute adrift of Tänak.

    Thierry Neuville was another to struggle this morning. Set-up changes had a positive effect and the Belgian ended on a high, sharing fastest time in the final stage with team-mate Sordo. Two punctures didn’t help his efforts, but he was only 1.2sec behind Evans.

    Sixth went the way of Takamoto Katsuta. The Japanese driver stalled his Yaris’ engine three times but held a comfortable advantage over FIA WRC2 leader Mads Østberg in his TRT World Rally Team-run Citroën C3. Class rival Jari Huttunen was eighth in his Hyundai NG i20, ahead of FIA WRC3 leader Yohan Rossel in his Citroën C3 and WRC2 contender Marco Bulacia (Toksport Škoda Fabia Evo).

    Kalle Rovanperä was initially Tänak’s closest challenger but the Finn retired his Yaris with broken front right suspension in this morning’s final stage.

    It was a disappointing day for M-Sport Ford. Teemu Suninen retired in the opening stage after tipping his Fiesta onto its side, while Gus Greensmith retired from seventh in the last stage with transmission troubles. Brake problems cost Pierre-Louis Loubet more than three minutes and he was 11th in an i20.

    Saturday is the longest leg with 129.62km of competition. The morning features a double pass of two stages in the Monte Lerno area, including the breathtaking Micky’s Jump. After service, two afternoon tests, which are also driven twice, include one not used since 2005.

    2021 Rally Italia Sardegna – Provisional Results after Section 5:

    1. Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST)Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC1 hr 26min 58.0sec
    2. Dani Sordo (ESP) / Borja Rozada (ESP)Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC1 hr 27min 17.4sec
    3. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA)Toyota Yaris WRC1 hr 27min 34.2sec
    4. Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR)Toyota Yaris WRC1 hr 28min 00.0sec
    5. Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Martin Wydaeghe (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC1 hr 28min 01.2sec
    6. Takamoto Katsuta (JAP) / Daniel Barritt (GBR)Toyota Yaris WRC1 hr 28min 24.1sec
    7. Mads Ostberg (NOR) / Torsten Eriksen (NOR) – WRC2Citroën C31 hr 30min 39.7sec
    8. Jari Huttunen (FIN) / Mikko Lukka (FIN) – WRC2Hyundai NG i201 hr 31min 06.7sec
    9. Yohan Rossel (FRA) / Alexandre Coria (FRA) – WRC3Citroën C31 hr 31min 33.8sec
    10. P. Lopez (ESP) / D. Vallejo (ESP) – WRC3Škoda Fabia Evo1 hr 31min 50.1sec
  • Ott Tanak leads as Dani Sordo slips: Rally Portugal

    Ott Tanak leads as Dani Sordo slips: Rally Portugal

    Lousada (Portugal), 21 May 2021: Hyundai driver Ott Tänak maintained his composure and erred on the side of caution when necessary to hold a lead of six seconds after eight special stages of the 54th Vodafone Rally of Portugal on Friday.
     
    The three Hyundai i20 Coupés looked set to dominate the first leg. Dani Sordo led the rally from the end of stage two to the start of the seventh special, but tyre wear and a costly stall were expensive for the Spaniard and he slipped behind Tänak and Toyota’s Elfyn Evans before the final stage at Lousada.
     
    Sordo erred on the side of caution on the final special as well and finished the leg nine seconds off the lead in third place.
     
    The i20s had been the class of the field during the first loop, but Thierry Neuville was over ambitious with a pace-note in stage seven, slid wide, clouted a tree stump and lost over three and a half minutes coaxing the car to the stage finish. The crew worked in vain on the car on the road section, but had already plummeted from third to ninth when they were forced to retire from the day’s action. 
     
    Evans, Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta were locked in their own mini battle for fourth, fifth and sixth places for much of the day in a trio of Toyotas. They traded times until Evans made his move and Katsuta staked his climb on fourth place at the night halt. Rovanperä finished the day in sixth.
     
    Starting first on the road was a distinct disadvantage for defending FIA World Champion Sébastien Ogier and he ceded time to his rivals throughout the day, despite winning the seventh stage. The Frenchman did manage to pass Adrien Fourmaux on the second loop of stages and moved up to sixth after Neuville’s issues and he displaced Rovanperä in SS7. But the fifth-placed Toyota Yaris driver still has his work cut out to make this trip to northern Portugal a fruitful one for his title aspirations.
     
    Gus Greensmith showed impressive pace on three stages in particular in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta, but a time-consuming rear puncture ruined the Briton’s progress and he reached the night halt in seventh after passing Fourmaux when the Frenchman also collected a flat tyre.
     
    A puncture ruined Mads Østberg’s ambitions in FIA WRC2 as well and the driver of the TRT World Rally Team-run Citroën C3 could only watch frustratingly as the flying Finns, Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen, battled it out with Nikolay Gryazin for supremacy. The latter was the revelation on the opening day but his Movisport team-mate Lappi held on to take a 2.2-second lead into the night halt in his Volkswagen Polo GTi and held ninth overall. Suninen finished the day a further 7.6 seconds behind in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Mk II.
     
    Yohan Rossel (Citroën) held a slender 3.5-second advantage over Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Škoda) in FIA WRC3 after eight stages. Nicolas Ciamin (Citroën) and Chris Ingram (Škoda) were third and fourth.
     
    Finland’s Sami Pajari held a lead of 22.3 seconds over Czech driver Martin Koči  in the FIA Junior WRC category after seven stages. Latvia’s Martin Sesks was third, but the Ford Fiesta series-leading Jon Armstrong dropped over four minutes and lost his early advantage in stage six.

  • Ott Tanak-Martin Jarveoja claim first victory of 2021: WRC

    Ott Tanak-Martin Jarveoja claim first victory of 2021: WRC

    Rovaniemi (Finland), 28 Feb 2021: Hyundai Motorsport has claimed its first victory of the 2021 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with an assured performance from start to finish in Arctic Rally Finland, the second round of the season.

    Estonian crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja concluded the ten-stage event confidently to win by 17.5-seconds from Kalle Rovanperä with team-mates Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe in third.

    The double podium finish for Hyundai Motorsport marks its first-ever top-three result in a Finland-based WRC event and sees the team hold second in the manufacturers’ championship on 77 points, 11 behind the leaders after two rounds.

    Tänak took the rally lead on the opening stage on Friday afternoon and never relinquished his authority of the event. With five stage wins out of ten and a measured approach to the final morning, he secured his second-ever win in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC (his first was at his home rally in Estonia last season).

    Crews had just one stage to negotiate on the final day, the 22.47km Aittajärvi test, which was run twice. The second pass was held as the rally-concluding Power Stage with extra points available for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.

    Neuville and Wydaeghe, in just their second WRC event as a crew, picked up their second consecutive podium result after another solid weekend performance. They continued to work on their communication and collaboration, using the high-speed rally to make another important step forward in their partnership. A dominant stage win on Saturday evening was a sign of their progress.

    Craig Breen and Paul Nagle, in their first WRC event of 2021, ensured all three Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC cars made it safely to the finish, taking fourth. The Irish crew started Sunday with a new gearbox after impressively fast work by the team’s mechanics in the 15-minute morning service and rewarded them for their efforts with the second fastest time in the Power Stage.

    For Hyundai Motorsport, the result cemented the team’s 18th victory, and also its 18th double podium in WRC. Neuville, meanwhile, has moved up to second in the drivers’ classification, just four points behind leader Rovanperä, while Tänak opened his 2021 points account in style to jump up to fifth.


    Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)

    • Second victory for Hyundai Motorsport after a dominant weekend
    • Secured the win by 17.5 seconds and added valuable Power Stage points

    Tänak said: “This victory is very important and allows us to take away good points for the championship. We came to Finland – the home country of one of our closest rivals – so the pressure was on for sure. We knew it would be complicated to take on the fight but, in the end, we did a very good weekend. The pre-event test was held in very different conditions, so we didn’t really know what to expect. I was pushing the engineers quite a lot, but their hard work really paid off. We tried some new things in shakedown, and it all worked out nicely. This has been an amazing place to come for a rally, definitely one of the best for a winter event; there’s no place where you can have more snow and the characteristics of the road have been very special. Big praise to the organisers – it’s more than a worthy addition to the world championship.”

  • Ott Tanak extends lead: Arctic Rally Finland

    Ott Tanak extends lead: Arctic Rally Finland

    27 Feb 2021: Ott Tänak mastered Saturday’s second leg of Arctic Rally Finland to carry a substantial lead into Sunday’s finale.

    The Estonian won three of the six superfast snow and ice speed tests in his Hyundai i20 to add to Friday’s opening leg double. He heads Kalle Rovanperä by 24.1sec with two more remaining at this second round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

    His joy was in contrast to the disappointment suffered by World Champion Sébastien Ogier. The championship leader buried his Toyota Yaris into a snowbank 200 metres from the end of the closing test and plunged off the leaderboard as he battled for 20min to dig it out.

    Tänak stretched his advantage to 23.6sec after winning two of this morning’s three stages in perfect winter conditions in Lapland’s forests. He held the Finnish youngster and a fast-closing Thierry Neuville at bay this afternoon to put himself in a strong position.

    Despite overnight set-up changes to his Yaris, Rovanperä remained frustrated with his car’s balance. He yielded a few seconds after swiping a snowbank and after winning the penultimate stage, he came under fierce pressure from a charging Neuville in the final test.

    The Belgian’s tyre strategy worked to perfection and he was quickest by more than 12sec to slash Rovanpera’s advantage to 1.8sec. It was a better afternoon for Neuville who earlier struggled to hear co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe’s pace notes above his i20’s engine noise.

    Team-mate Craig Breen found tyre management more tricky as conditions worsened this afternoon. With frozen gravel poking through the ice and loose snow on the surface, the Irishman fell back to fourth, almost 30sec adrift of Neuville.

    Toyota’s Elfyn Evans broke Tänak’s run of stage wins this morning but the Welshman also struggled to manage his tyres and admitted he was often too cautious. He was 10.1sec behind Breen.

    Oliver Solberg surpassed all expectations on his FIA WRC World Rally Car debut. The 19-year-old was a stunning third in the opening stage and returned to the Rovaniemi base in sixth – despite losing his glasses ahead of the final stage!

    Takamoto Katsuta finished 7.6sec behind after a daylong scrap with Solberg and Ogier, with Ford Fiesta duo Teemu Suninen and Gus Greensmith next up. FIA WRC2 leader Esapekka Lappi completed the leaderboard in a Skoda Fabia.

    Lorenzo Bertelli retired his Fiesta after plunging into a snowbank in the opening stage, while Pierre-Louis Loubet exited with technical troubles after doing the same later on.

    In FIA WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen, driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2 for Toksport, pushed hard to stay on Lappi’s tail. The Norwegian admitted he was already driving on the limit and didn’t have much more to give. Nikolay Gryazin is 36.0sec behind Mikkelsen in third.

    In the FIA WRC3 class, home hero Teemu Asunmaa still leads the way, 12.5sec ahead of Estonia’s Egon Kaur and with a comfortable advantage of 1min and 18sec over another fellow Finn, Eerik Pietarinen.

    Sunday’s finale comprises two runs of the 22.47km Aittajärvi test, south of Rovaniemi. The second pass forms the live TV Wolf Power Stage, with bonus points up for grabs for the top five drivers and manufacturers.

    The provisionnal classification can be consulted here.

  • Tanak dominates Day 1 on Arctic Rally Finland

    Tanak dominates Day 1 on Arctic Rally Finland

    Rovaniemi (Finland), 26 Feb 2021: Ott Tänak threw down the gauntlet in Lapland’s frozen forests by winning the opening two speed tests to build a dominant lead at Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox on Friday night.

    The Estonian was the class of the field in the first of three days of Arctic action. He was fastest in the first 31.05km Sarriojärvi test by 3.6sec before crushing his rivals by almost 10sec in the repeat run in darkness.

    Tänak returned to the overnight halt in Rovaniemi with a 16.2sec advantage over Hyundai i20 team-mate Craig Breen, with home hero Kalle Rovanperä 20.4sec adrift in a Toyota Yaris in third.

    Pirelli’s tyres provided amazing grip as the tungsten-tipped studded rubber bit into the snow and ice-covered roads. Tänak was one of the few frontrunners to gamble on just one spare tyre for the pair of stages.

    Breen, returning to the FIA World Rally Championship after a four-rally absence, was quickly back in the groove. Top three times on both stages put the Irishman ahead of the eager 20-year-old Rovanperä.

    The Finn’s first stage split times were quicker than Tänak, but a mistake after the midpoint slowed his progress. On roads littered with tricky blind crests, he recorded the top speed, clocking a remarkable 204.8kph in the second pass.

    Thierry Neuville put a third i20 into the top four. The Belgian was 9.4sec behind Rovanperä and complained of understeer in the second run, but he had 2.2sec in hand over Elfyn Evans’ Toyota Yaris in fifth.

    Teemu Suninen was sixth in a Ford Fiesta, with Takamoto Katsuta 4.3sec back in seventh in another Yaris.

    Oliver Solberg was a remarkable eighth on his championship World Rally Car debut. The teenager made a minor mistake in the opening stage in his i20, but was fourth in the second pass, despite being guided by stand-in co-driver Seb Marshall for the first time.

    Championship leader Sébastien Ogier was almost 50sec off the lead in ninth in his Yaris. Road conditions improved progressively so first in the order proved a tough task for the Frenchman, especially as snow flurries left loose powder on the surface for the second pass.

    Gus Greensmith completed the leaderboard in a Fiesta but Pierre-Louis Loubet’s hopes took a setback in the second run when he lost more than 3min 30sec after changing a flat tyre.

    In FIA WRC2, local hero and 2020 WRC contender Esapekka Lappi tops the provisional leaderboard with a Movisport-entered Volkswagen Polo GTI with a lead of 13.6s over his team-mate Nicolay Gryazin and Toksport’s championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen in a Škoda Fabian Evo.

    In FIA WRC3, Finland’s Emil Lindholm is 10.9s ahead of national champion Teemu Asunmaa. Estonia’s Egon Kaur is third the overnight standings; another 10.4s behind.

    The bulk of the rally takes place in Saturday’s second leg. A compact clockwise route south-east of Rovaniemi is driven twice, with service in between. The final stage runs in darkness and the six tests add up to 144.04km of action.

    Classification after Day One

    1O. TänakM. JärveojaHyundai i20 Coupe WRC31:50.7
    2C. BreenP. NagleHyundai i20 Coupe WRC+16.2
    3K. RovanperäJ. HalttunenToyota Yaris WRC+20.4
    4T. NeuvilleM. WydaegheHyundai i20 Coupe WRC+29.8
    5E. EvansS. MartinToyota Yaris WRC+32.0
    6T. SuninenM. MarkkulaFord Fiesta WRC+34.5
    7T. KatsutaD. BarrittToyota Yaris WRC+38.8
    8O. SolbergS. MarshallHyundai i20 Coupe WRC+45.9
    9S. OgierJ. IngrassiaToyota Yaris WRC+49.8
    10G. GreensmithE. EdmondsonFord Fiesta WRC+1:05.8

    The provisional results can be consulted here.

  • Ott Tanak wins in Estonia to open up title race

    Ott Tanak wins in Estonia to open up title race

    Estonia, 6 Sept 2020: Ott Tänak claimed his first World Rally Championship victory on the series’ return in Estonia. The Hyundai driver survived a late fright to deliver a popular home win on Sunday afternoon and climbed from fifth to third in the overall classification.

    Tänak led most of the way to win the three-day gravel road Rally Estonia by 22.2 seconds in a Hyundai i20. Team-mate Craig Breen completed a 1-2 for Hyundai and matched his career-best result.

    Estonia was the 600th WRC round since the championship began in 1973 and marked the championship’s return after a six-month pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Tänak was the pre-event favourite and after taking the lead early in Saturday’s opening leg, the Estonian was never headed. But his bid for a maiden victory with the Korean manufacturer almost came unstuck in the penultimate speed test.

    He swiped a bank with the rear of his i20, but the damage proved cosmetic only and he eased through the final special stage to secure his first victory for the team.

    Tänak is now 13 points behind championship leader Sébastien Ogier. Second for an emotional Breen enabled the squad to close the gap to manufacturers’ series leaders Toyota Gazoo Racing to five points.

    Breen finished only 4.7s clear of Ogier, admitting his attempt to measure his pace in the final stage allowed the Frenchman to come closer than intended. It was, however, a hugely impressive performance from the Irishman who is not a regular WRC starter.

    Ogier headed a trio of Yaris finishers, satisfied that a podium keeps his hopes of a seventh world title on track, but disappointed he did not have the grip to match Tänak’s pace on Saturday afternoon.

    Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä were fourth and fifth, both losing time with tyre troubles. Rovanperä incurred a 60s penalty last night for working on his car in a prohibited zone, but the 19-year-old earlier became the youngest driver to lead a WRC rally at just 19.

    Takamoto Katsuta rolled out of what would have been a career-best fifth place. His error promoted the Ford Fiestas of Teemu Suninen and Esapekka Lappi to sixth and seventh, the Finns swapping places after Lappi lost time with a big spin.
    Gus Greensmith was eighth after World Rally Car debutant Pierre-Louis Loubet retired with broken steering after hitting a tree stump. FIA WRC3 support category winner Oliver Solberg was ninth with FIA WRC2 victor Mads Østberg completing the leaderboard.

    Østberg recovered from a puncture on his PH Sport prepared Citroën C3 on Saturday morning before blasting away from rivals and claiming a resounding victory in the FIA WRC2 category. Behind him, Adrien Fourmaux finished second – a better result than he had anticipated – when a painful last-minute puncture for Hyundai’s Nikolay Gryazin gifted him the position. Pontus Tidemand drove a consistent rally in his Škoda Fabia Rally2 and was rewarded third as Gryazin hit trouble, 1min 21.7sec behind.

    Winner of the FIA European Rally Championship’s Rally Liepaja last month in Latvia, Oliver Solberg was unstoppable in neighbouring Estonia, clinching his first ever FIA WRC3 win and first WRC points finish with ninth place overall. His closest rivals this weekend, local hero Egon Kaur and triple FIA ERC champion Kajetan Kajetanowicz, both encountered problems on Sunday. Kaur slipped from second to fourth behind Rally Sweden WRC3 category winner Jari Huttunen, but those positions became third and second when Kajetanowicz rolled his Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo on the final stage.

    In FIA Junior WRC, Latvia’s Martins Sesks scored his first victory following late misfortune for long-time leader Robert Virves. The Estonian had seen his overnight lead cut to just 5.3s by Sesks, but worse was to follow when a puncture four stages from the finish cost 45sec and demoted him to third. Sesks however never put a foot wrong throughout the three-day event. Sami Pajari from Finland finished second, 14.7s behind him.

    2020 Rally Estonia – Final Official Results

    1. Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST)          Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC1hr 59min 53.6sec
    2. Craig Breen (IRL) / Paul Nagle (IRL)Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC2h 00min 15.8sec
    3. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA)Toyota Yaris WRC     2hr 00min 20.5sec
    4. Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR)     Toyota Yaris WRC          2hr 00min 35.5sec
    5. Kalle Rovanperä (FIN) / Jonne Halttunen (FIN)Toyota Yaris WRC2hr 01min 12.3sec
    6. Teemu Suninen (FIN) / Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN)                  Ford Fiesta WRC2hr 02min 33.2sec
    7. Esapekka Lappi (FIN) / Janne Ferm (FIN)Ford Fiesta WRC2hr 02min 45.6sec
    8.  Gus Greensmith (GBR) / Elliott Edmondson (GBR)      Ford Fiesta WRC     2hr 04min 47.4sec
    9. Oliver Solberg (NOR) / A. Johnston (IRL) – FIA WRC3Volkswagen Polo Gti2h 07min 32.2sec
    10. Mads Østberg / T. Eriksen (NOR) – FIA WRC 2Citroën C32h 08min 10.9sec
  • Ott Tanak takes lead on home soil: Rally Estonia

    Ott Tanak takes lead on home soil: Rally Estonia

    Estonia, 5 Sept 2020: Ott Tänak leads on home soil a Hyundai 1-2-3 as the FIA World Rally Championship roared back into action on Rally Estonia with five stages on Saturday morning.

    Tänak came into the event as the favourite for victory but it was Toyota’s 19-year Kalle Rovanperä who was quickest in SS2 to take the lead of a WRC round for the first time. But the Finn then lost around half a minute to Tänak in SS3 when he finished the stage with a damaged tyre, which also caused him to lose some of the aerodynamic bodywork on his car.

    Tänak was quickest in stages three and four to open up a lead over his team-mate Craig Breen, while Thierry Neuville also moved up into the top three. Neuville won SS6 and finished the morning 4.3 seconds behind Breen and 11.1 seconds away from Tänak.

    Jointly leading the rally after SS1 on Friday following a colourful opening ceremony at Raadi airfield in Tartu, Sébastien Ogier dropped to fifth opening the road on the morning’s first stage, but improved his pace as the loop wore on and claimed a fastest time on SS6 to jump ahead of Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans for fourth overall. The recovering Rovanperä was second fastest in the final two stages of the loop and sits sixth just ahead of fellow Toyota youngster Takamoto Katsuta.

    M-Sport Ford drivers Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen sit eighth and ninth, with Lappi losing time when he overshot a junction in SS6. Pierre-Louis Loubet made a similar error in the very same place but sits 10th on his top-class debut in a Hyundai, ahead of M-Sport’s Gus Greensmith.

    Mads Østberg leads FIA WRC2 in his Citroën following an eventful morning in the category, which included a puncture for the Norwegian driver. He is 16.5 seconds ahead of his nearest rival Nikolay Gryazin, who escaped a high-speed spin in SS2 in his Hyundai. Ahead of Østberg overall are the top three drivers in FIA WRC3, where Oliver Solberg is on top in front of local ace Egon Kaur and Poland’s Kajetan Kajetanowicz.

    It is an Estonian one-two in FIA Junior WRC, with category debutant Robert Virves leading Ken Torn by 1.3s. Championship leader Tom Kristensson was on top after SS2, only to retire following a heavy landing on the following stage.

  • Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja safe after a big crash

    Gap (France), 24 Jan 2020: Hyundai Motorsport crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja crashed during the fourth special stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo (SS4 Saint-Clément – Freissinières) on Friday morning.

    The Estonians, driving the #8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, went off 9.2 kilometres into the 20.68km stage. The driver and co-driver were both able to exit the car on their own after the incident.

    Tänak and Järveoja have been taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks, as is standard procedure following a crash of this nature.

    Hyundai Motorsport will provide any further updates in its end-of-day rally report.

    The crash video here. (courtesy Tomi T Twitter @T_Tuominen )

     

  • Tanak-Jarveoja finish 2nd behind Neuville-Gilsoul; win maiden WRC title

    Tanak-Jarveoja finish 2nd behind Neuville-Gilsoul; win maiden WRC title

    Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul scored victory at the Rally of Spain for Hyundai, snatching the lead in Saturday’s first stage and maintaining their position at the top until the finish line. But it was not enough to stop the championship points leaders Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja in their mission: the Estonian pair dominated the Power Stage, claiming maximum score and taking away second place from Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio to claim a maiden World Rally Championship title*.

    Conditions were dry and typical of the Spanish round, with air temperatures just over 20 degrees celsius, ensuring the drivers had plenty of grip on the asphalt for Sunday’s two loops of two stages.

    Neuville controlled the lead of the rally in first position from Saturday’s first morning speed test, but his teammate Sordo, in second overnight, had the pressure of Tänak on his heels. Sordo managed to keep Tänak at bay for most of the final day, taking two additional stage wins on Sunday morning, but the Estonian set a scorching time in the Power Stage, gaining six seconds on the Spaniard, which promoted him to second place and enabled him to secure the 2019 WRC title*.

    Sébastien Ogier had also started the Rally of Spain with a relative chance to stay in the title race for the season finale in Australia, but his hopes were dashed at the start of Friday when an hydraulic issue caused his power steering and paddle-shift gear selector to fail. The defending champion finished eighth overall after losing over four minutes.

    Hyundai showed dominant pace across the rally, occupying the top 3 spots of the timesheets at one point during five stages in a row on Saturday. Sébastien Loeb, who was the rally leader on Friday evening following a day on gravel, did not manage to find the right feeling in his car on tarmac. The 2018 event winner dropped back behind both his teammates Neuville and Sordo on Saturday and then fell behind Tänak after the evening’s street stage in Salou into fourth place, where he finished the rally.

    Jari-Matti Latvala scored solid points for Toyota in fifth, the Finn ending 6.3s behind Loeb. The M-Sport Ford pair of Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen finished sixth and seventh respectively. Evans had been fighting Latvala for a top five finish earlier on the event but the Welshman suffered technical issues on Friday. Teemu Suninen finished seventh, despite a spin in the rally-ending Power Stage.

    Ogier, in the only remaining Citroën, recovered to eighth after his power steering problems on the opening day but was unable to prevent his former M-Sport teammate to claim the 2019 title. The second Citroën driver, Esapekka Lappi, was forced to retire on Friday’s final stage with an engine related issue and could not start again.

    Behind Ogier, FIA WRC 2 Pro winner Mads Østberg and FIA WRC 2 winner Eric Camilli, both driving Citroën R5s, completed the leaderboard in ninth and tenth respectively.

    Kris Meeke was fighting the Hyundai trio for a podium place but crashed on Saturday morning’s second stage. The Ulsterman restarted on Sunday to finish in 30th position overall. Takamoto in the last WRC car – a privately entered Toyota Yaris – had set his sights on a Top 10 finish he dropped to 40th overall as a gearbox problem cost him over 30 minutes.

    * subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.

    2019 Rally of Spain – Final official results:

    1. Thierry Neuville (BEL) / Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 07min 39.6sec
    2. Ott Tänak (EST) / Martin Järveoja (EST) Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 07min 56.8sec
    3. Dani Sordo (SPA) / Carlos Del Barrio (SPA) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 07min 57.2sec
    4. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (MON) Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 08min 33.5sec
    5. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) / Mikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 08min 39.8sec
    6. Elfyn Evans (GBR) / Scott Martin (GBR) Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 08min 53.8sec
    7. Teemu Suninen (FIN) / Marko Salminen (FIN) Ford Fiesta WRC 3hr 09min 27.2sec
    8. Sébastien Ogier (FRA) / Julien Ingrassia (FRA) Citroën C3 WRC 3hr 12min 00.1sec
    9. Mads Østberg (NOR) / Torstein Eriksen (NOR) Citroën C3 R5 3hr 16min 04.2sec
    10. Eric Camilli (FRA) / Benjamin Veillas (FRA) Citroën C3 R5 3hr 16min 26.8sec