Метка: Ott Tanak

Hyundai calls for investigation into bizarre Tanak arch incident

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai has called for a “clear and transparent” investigation to understand why its World Rally Championship driver Ott Tanak was delayed by a fallen inflatable promotional arch at Rally Latvia.

Stage 14 provided one of the strangest incidents of the season when a promotional arch halted fourth-placed Tanak.

Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja collected the arch that was lying across the road after Toyota’s Elfyn Evans clipped the inflatable structure following a wild moment during his pass, which caused the arch to deflate and collapse.

The stage wasn’t red-flagged before Tanak arrived on the scene, and as a result, his i20 became entangled in the arch. The stage was eventually halted to clear the incident while Tanak, Takamoto Katsuta and Adrien Fourmaux were issued nominal times, having been caught up in the red flag aftermath.

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A frustrated Tanak took aim at race control for not stopping the stage sooner.

“I think this exactly describes how we are in safe hands in terms of race control. Probably they were having a nice meal and good wine when on the cameras you could see the road is blocked and there is a car coming. Well done race control, you are really taking care of us,» said Tanak on the television broadcast.

“We are ok but f****** hell, you could see the road was blocked and you keep it running. Hopefully, it was a good wine.”

Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team

Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

Event organisers have since issued the following statement to explain what happened: “Car number 33 [Elfyn Evans] left the stage, damaging the supports of an inflatable branding arch towards the end of SS14 on Saturday afternoon at Tet Rally Latvia.

“It was clear there was damage to the arch and two staff, positioned specifically to ensure the safety of the arch moved immediately to remove it from the road. They were not able to do this prior to the arrival of car number 8 [Ott Tanak].”

While the incident ultimately didn’t affect the leaderboard, Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul wants answers to ensure this incident isn’t repeated in the future.

“What’s bizarre is the time it took for anyone who is responsible for monitoring the situation and assessing what to do,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

“We are in a world of extreme connectivity, extreme agility, and I think that we should make sure that we have the devices that are needed in order to red flag when there is something that is totally blocking the road. They [Ott and Martin] had absolutely no escape, nowhere to go.

“The FIA has reached out [to us] and I think we really need to get a proper investigation of what has happened and what is the existing system.

“Was the system in default because of the plane situation [the WRC’s TV relay aircraft was grounded in the afternoon due to a technical issue]? But if that’s the case, there should be contingency measures.

“I would call for, simply, a clear and transparent investigation about the steps that will be taken to make sure that it doesn’t happen again in the future, because it’s very clear that there was enough time to red flag the stage.”

When asked if he felt Tanak would receive a penalty for his comments directed at race control, Abiteboul added: “I hope that common sense will prevail rather than spending time about a penalty. We should spend more resources and time and effort in understanding how it can happen or how it could be avoided in the future.”



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Tanak unharmed after high-speed crash at Rally Estonia

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO



World Rally Championship title contender Ott Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja have escaped unharmed from a high-speed crash at Rally Estonia.

The pair were driving a WRC-specification Hyundai i20 Rally1 car in the national class of the event, which this weekend is hosting the fourth round of the European Rally Championship. The rally offered a chance for Tanak and Jarveoja to log some extra mileage ahead of WRC rounds on fast gravel in Latvia and Finland.

A video on social media has captured Tanak losing control of his i20 N at high speed during the Raanitsa stage, which pitched the car into a roll before it appeared to come to rest in a ditch.

 

Images of the car have confirmed the i20 N suffered heavy damage and will be unable to be repaired to continue competing in Estonia.

Tanak and Jarveoja were taken to hospital in the rally’s host city, Tartu, for medical checks. The 2019 world champion declared on social media that he and Martin were ok.

“While participating here at Rally Estonia we had an accident on today’s first stage SS2 Raanitsa,” read a post on Tanak’s social media.

“Due to the nature of the crash, we’ve been taken for medical checks at the hospital in Tartu. Both myself and Martin are feeling well and we’re ok.

“Unfortunately, it will not be possible to participate further on Rally Estonia due to the amount of work needed to repair the car.” 

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The accident continued a run of misfortune for Tanak after crashing out of stage two at last weekend’s Rally Poland when he was unable to avoid a collision with a deer that had jumped out into the road.

Hyundai is set to compete in another national rally next week with Esapekka Lappi entering the Lietuva Rally in Lithuania to prepare for his WRC return in Latvia later this month.



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Hyundai call to retire Tanak in Rally Poland was a “mistake”

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


World Rally Championship points leader Thierry Neuville believes it was a mistake for Hyundai to retire Ott Tanak’s car after stage 12 at Rally Poland.

Hyundai elected to retire Tanak’s i20 N after Saturday morning’s loop to prepare to challenge for the 12 points on offer on Super Sunday.

The decision came with Tanak already out of the fight for victory and Saturday points after an unavoidable collision with a deer forced him to retire from stage two on Friday.

Tanak rejoined the rally on Saturday morning acting as road sweeper and another car ahead of Neuville and team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen in the road order.  

With Tanak absent from the afternoon stages, Neuville moved up a spot in the road order. The Belgian, who made a small error in stage 15, ultimately ended the day finishing fifth, 0.1s behind Rally1 debutant Martins Sesks, and lost two championship points in the process.  

“It was definitely not a help for us, that’s for sure,” Neuville told Motorsport.com when asked about the decision to retire Tanak.

“I mean, each car you can have in front cleaning the road is an advantage, especially in a championship fight where every single point really counts. I think it was a mistake, but this is what it is.

“It could have been valuable kilometres as well for the car, trying different things without any question.”

Cyril Abiteboul, Team principal Hyundai World Rally Team

Cyril Abiteboul, Team principal Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul explained the rationale behind the decision.

“The thinking is that with the current regulation of the super rally and we were so far behind that there was absolutely nothing to gain,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

“We started [Ott] in the morning because we wanted to do a proper shakedown of the car after the repair.

“We also wanted to give a bit of relief to Thierry by having an extra car doing a bit of cleaning in the morning when it mattered, but in the afternoon obviously the benefits are lower, and it was very clear that, you know, nothing would be happening that would really help Ott in the championship or in or in the starting order for tomorrow.

“So, when that is the case, we prefer to get the crew to recover a bit and focus on the preparation for Sunday, because that has to be for him the biggest charge.”

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Impossible to avoid deer collision at Rally Poland with 0.26s to react

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ott Tanak says it was impossible to avoid a collision with a deer that put him out of the World Rally Championship’s Rally Poland, revealing he had only 0.26s to react.

The Hyundai driver was forced to retire from Friday’s gravel stages when a deer jumped out into the road on stage two [Stanczyki, 29.40km] which left the Estonian with an unavoidable accident.

Following the impact Tanak immediately pulled off the road 18.3km into the test with damage to the front of his i20 N. Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja were unscathed following the crash.

The 2019 world champion confirmed that the impact had ripped the entire cooling system from the car and that there was no time to react with his I20 N travelling at 117mph.

“It was on a straight actually and we have just checked that from the moment the head of deer came out of the bush and the impact was 0.26s, it was very short,” said Tanak. “There was no time to panic and really no time to react as well.”

Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team

Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport

The unfortunate incident dealt a cruel blow to Tanak who was tipped as the favourite to win this weekend as he aimed to close the 18-point gap to championship leader and team-mate Thierry Neuville. Tanak had held the overnight lead after winning Thursday’s super special stage.

It is the second dose of misfortune Tanak has suffered this year when he was forced out of Safari Rally Kenya following an impact with a rock in the middle of the road.

Tanak expects his Hyundai team will be able to fix the car in time to rejoin the rally on Saturday, but will likely face a tough road position to battle for the 12 championship points on offer on Super Sunday.

“We need to try [to attack for Sunday points] but we could see today that Thierry is losing a second per kilometre opening the road it seems difficult even for Sunday,” he added. “We need to start tomorrow though.”

Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen ended Friday morning with a 2.2s rally lead over WRC debutant Martins Sesks driving a non-hybrid powered M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car.

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Rally leader Tanak crashes out, Mikkelsen leads from debutant Sesks

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Tanak had been tipped among the favourites to win on Poland’s high-speed gravel roads, but his victory hopes came to a sudden halt on stage two [Stanczyki, 29.40km].

The Hyundai driver had started Friday with a one second lead over team-mate Thierry Neuville after winning Thursday night’s super special. 

However, Tanak was forced to pull off the road 18.3km into the test with damage to the front of his i20 N. The Estonian hit a deer which ripped the radiator out of the car. Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja were unscathed following the crash.

«Unfortunately, we hit a dear,» said Tanak, who is aiming to rejoin the rally tomorrow.

«No nothing is cooked. Everything is ok apart from some parts on the car but everything is changeable.»

Tanak’s exit has handed the rally lead to the third Hyundai driven by Andreas Mikkelsen, who made the most of his lower road position to win the stage.

The Norwegian’s run wasn’t completely clean after clipping a hay bale but it didn’t stop him from scoring his first stage win since Wales Rally GB 2019.

«We tried to have a good pace, there was one corner where I hit a hay bale,” said Mikkelsen. «I tried to stay in the lines as this is the only thing we can do, we just have to attack the stage.» 

Andreas Mikkelsen, Torstein Eriksen, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Andreas Mikkelsen, Torstein Eriksen, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Mikkelsen was 0.3s faster than Rally1 debutant Martins Sesks, who delivered a stunning time driving a non-hybrid powered version of the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car.

“What! Ok. That’ it,» said a stunned Sesks when he was told his time that has moved him second overall, 2.2s adrift of Mikkelsen.

Reigning world champion Kalle Rovanpera climbed from seventh to third overall [+7.9s] after posting the third fastest time in the stage. The Toyota driver, who received a last-minute call up to replace the injured Sebastien Ogier, was frustrated by not being able to push due to his rushed preparation for the event.

“The driving was not really good, it’s so difficult on this rally. I don’t remember the stages like I should. I can’t take any more risks because I don’t know where I’m going,” said Rovanpera.

M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux moved to fourth which he shared with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, 8.0s adrift of Mikkelsen.    

Gregoire Munster {+12.8s], Takamoto Katsuta [19.1s] and championship leader Thierry Neuville [+21.2s] rounded out the Rally1 field.

In WRC2, Sami Pajari led the class by 6.1s from Nikolay Gryazin after overnight leader Oliver Solberg suffered a power issue with his Skoda Fabia.

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Surprise Sardinia WRC win “really cruel” on Ogier

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Tanak took a surprise victory by 0.2s from eight-time world champion Ogier after the Toyota driver picked up a puncture three kilometres from completing the new 16-stage shorter 266.12km rally.

The winning margin equalled the WRC’s closest-ever finish when Ogier beat Jari-Matti Latvala in Jordan 2011.

Ogier started Sunday with a 17.1s advantage over Tanak but that margin was whittled down to 6.2s heading into the final Sassari Power Stage before drama struck.

Tanak was shocked by the final stage drama and was quick to sympathise with his rival Ogier having lost a likely Sardinia win to a steering problem on the same stage in 2019.

“I was really surprised at what happened, I was focusing on Sunday points to score as much as I could,” said Tanak. “We were parked up and I saw Seb’s time and I saw at the midpoint that he was just one second behind. I didn’t know the time gap and I asked [co-driver] Martin [Jarveoja].

“In the end it is just a bunch of emotions. Obviously, it is very positive as we were not focusing at all [on the win] and were just focused on the Sunday, but we didn’t gain any points by winning the rally.

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“It is really cruel for Seb to lose it like this. I have been there before myself, I have lost a safe victory on this stage, I know how bad it feels.”

Tanak had been locked in rally-long battle with Ogier, having led the Frenchman at the end of Saturday’s morning loop before Hyundai told the Estonian to be “safe and not push it” in the rough gravel conditions. The call wasn’t really a factor as Tanak struggled for confidence across Saturday afternoon before issuing a charge on Sunday morning.

Tanak’s first win in his second spell at Hyundai has moved the 2019 champion to tied second in the championship standings, 18 points behind team-mate Thierry Neuville. While pleased to be back in the title fight, he feels there is still work to be done to sustain his title pursuit.

“We can still see that we have some weak points especially on Saturday afternoon where it was not working for me, so we have plenty of work to do now we are going to completely different terrain. Hopefully I can find a good feeling and push on these rallies,” he added.

“I’m looking forward as I know what these rallies are about, but it is crucial to make the car to work.”

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Hyundai explains Tanak’s “be safe, not push it” WRC Sardinia call

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Tanak was embroiled in an intense fight for the rally lead with Toyota’s Ogier across Saturday’s rough gravel stages.

The 2019 world champion trailed Ogier by 4.5s heading into Saturday’s stages, but emerged with a 3.5s lead after the morning loop.

Ogier picked up a puncture in the day’s opening stage, which allowed Tanak to pounce as Ogier cautiously completed the loop without a spare wheel.

However, at the end of stage nine, Tanak revealed that his Hyundai team had asked him to “be safe and not push it”. The call came after team-mate and championship leader Thierry Neuville crashed out of third position.

Following the decision, Tanak ended Saturday 17.1s behind Ogier but the Estonian admitted he was struggling for confidence to challenge for the lead.

Abiteboul has since moved to explain the thinking behind the team call.

“I will never ask a driver to slow down, but the discussion we had was about risk versus reward,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

“Rally is all about that. The question was what is the extra level of risk that you need to take in order to feel you can have a go and a push and attack Ogier?

“I could feel from his [Ott’s] feedback that increasing the risk level was simply unreasonable given the level of confidence he has in the car.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

“I think he is still trying to work around the limitation of the car, which we have discussed a lot.

“On that basis it was judged unreasonable to increase the risk to the extent where we could be a threat on Ogier.

“That was the conclusion of the exchange; it doesn’t mean to slow down. It is not what I would qualify [as] a team order. I don’t want to be precious about terminology.

“There was an exchange and after having lost a car with Thierry and it was clear that for Ott this would be a good result for himself and the team, I felt it was right to have this type of action and this is something I like to do occasionally.”

When asked about the decision, Tanak added: “Clearly after Thierry went out we had only two cars left and, with the championship on the table, it is clear you can’t risk to lose another car.

“Nobody said I couldn’t fight Seb, but I was told not to take any risk.

“But in this situation where I couldn’t really find any good feeling in the car, especially this afternoon, if you keep pushing the risk is always on the table.

“I didn’t have a good feeling in the car, so I had to slow down.”

Tanak has since slashed Ogier’s lead to 6.6s on Sunday morning with two stages remaining.

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Hyundai’s plan to help Tanak unlock potential from WRC car

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Tanak has struggled to adjust to the i20 N Rally1 following his return to the Korean manufacturer this season but showed signs he’s made a stride forward by challenging for victory in Portugal earlier this month.

Tanak was able to find a way to drive around his set-up struggles on Portugal’s gravel roads to finish a season’s best second, 7.9s adrift of rally winner Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. Tanak, who sits 31 points adrift of team-mate and championship leader Thierry Neuville, felt he could have won the rally had he avoided a puncture on stage 13.

Hyundai boss Abiteboul was encouraged by Tanak’s performance but believes there is more the team can do to tailor the car more to his liking for the remainder of the season. Hyundai is also yet to decide how it will deploy its remaining homologation jokers for 2024.

“I’m happy with his [Tanak’s] performance as we are opening stint of seven rallies with a similar profile, so the fact, that not always but on occasions, he was feeling good with the car does show that we can expect something good from him in the following rounds,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

“Having said that he has given us a clear direction of what he wants to change and again that is what we want. From an engineering side, it is good to have a new perspective and angle on things on what we need to do, and we will endeavour to do that as soon as possible.

“We have some ideas, there is indeed some limitation, but we have some ideas, and we will be testing some stuff in relation to that, and maybe for introduction this year.

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“We still need to confirm exactly the two jokers that we want to use for this year, so we have some leeway there.

“I think what is interesting that Thierry has been able to drive around those limitations and I think by doing so does cost him a bit of speed, and the fact that Ott is saying that he cannot do what Thierry is doing, there is something not quite right with the car. By helping Ott I also believe he can help Thierry unlock an extra step.”

Abiteboul believes that Tanak is not suffering from a lack of confidence and commitment and that the onus is on the team to extract the best out of its driver.

“It is not just him building his confidence he doesn’t lack confidence or commitment it is about us coming with the mechanical solutions, so he has a better feeling for how the car is going to respond,” he added.

The WRC continues with a visit to Sardinia next week, which will feature a new 48-hour itinerary concept.

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Tanak has struggled to adjust to the i20 N Rally1 following his return to the Korean manufacturer this season but showed signs he’s made a stride forward by challenging for victory in Portugal earlier this month.

Tanak was able to find a way to drive around his set-up struggles on Portugal’s gravel roads to finish a season’s best second, 7.9s adrift of rally winner Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. Tanak, who sits 31 points adrift of team-mate and championship leader Thierry Neuville, felt he could have won the rally had he avoided a puncture on stage 13.

Hyundai boss Abiteboul was encouraged by Tanak’s performance but believes there is more the team can do to tailor the car more to his liking for the remainder of the season. Hyundai is also yet to decide how it will deploy its remaining homologation jokers for 2024.

«I’m happy with his [Tanak’s] performance as we are opening stint of seven rallies with a similar profile, so the fact, that not always but on occasions, he was feeling good with the car does show that we can expect something good from him in the following rounds,» Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

«Having said that he has given us a clear direction of what he wants to change and again that is what we want. From an engineering side, it is good to have a new perspective and angle on things on what we need to do, and we will endeavour to do that as soon as possible.

«We have some ideas, there is indeed some limitation, but we have some ideas, and we will be testing some stuff in relation to that, and maybe for introduction this year.

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

«We still need to confirm exactly the two jokers that we want to use for this year, so we have some leeway there.

«I think what is interesting that Thierry has been able to drive around those limitations and I think by doing so does cost him a bit of speed, and the fact that Ott is saying that he cannot do what Thierry is doing, there is something not quite right with the car. By helping Ott I also believe he can help Thierry unlock an extra step.»

Abiteboul believes that Tanak is not suffering from a lack of confidence and commitment and that the onus is on the team to extract the best out of its driver.

«It is not just him building his confidence he doesn’t lack confidence or commitment it is about us coming with the mechanical solutions, so he has a better feeling for how the car is going to respond,» he added.

The WRC continues with a visit to Sardinia next week, which will feature a new 48-hour itinerary concept.

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Tanak not far from “being in the fight” after Portugal WRC victory challenge

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The 2019 world champion ignited his season last weekend by ending a 2024 podium drought after losing out in an intense victory battle with Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier.

Prior to Portugal, Tanak had struggled for form since rejoining Hyundai this year, headlined by mistakes in the season opener in Monte Carlo and in Sweden, followed by an unfortunate crash in Kenya.

Finding the sweet spot in the i20 N was an issue in Croatia and again in Portugal, although Tanak was able to make progress and drive around the problems last weekend to challenge Ogier.

Tanak briefly led the rally on Saturday before a slow puncture on stage 13 handed the advantage back to the Frenchman, which held to the finish by a margin of 7.9s.

While Tanak admits he is not feeling 100% driving the Hyundai, he is making progress.

“I would say [we could have won without the puncture]. If you take 13 or 15 seconds off [the time] then we were going to be there,” Tanak told Motorsportcom.

“Obviously, Seb was pushing all the way through, so I would say he definitely didn’t slow down because of it.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“Definitely the outcome is not too bad it is just very unfortunate this one stage with the tyre, the slow puncture, otherwise I would say it was quite positive. On Friday we were struggling but I was slowly getting used to the car and in the Power Stage on Sunday I went for a push, but it wasn’t really working anymore, and I had too many mistakes.

“As long as I could keep a little margin, I was able to manage and especially with the second loop when the roads were a bit rougher and when I could lean in the ruts, I was quite ok.

“Let’s say, we are not in a place with the car where I have the speed of the others, but at least we are not far away, and if we keep pushing, we should be in the fight.”

Although Tanak missed out on victory, he scored 26 points, a point more than rally winner Ogier thanks to the championship’s new points structure. The points haul moved Tanak into third in the championship, 31 points behind leader and Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville.

When asked if this was a boost to the championship, he added: “Let’s see. Like in Croatia, everybody has still scored the same points. You can do whatever you want but it [this point system] is like being in Kindergarten, and there is a thumbs up for everyone and a thanks for coming.”

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