Neuville, Tanak free to fight for WRC title
Hyundai has reiterated its drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak are currently free to fight for the World Rally Championship without fear of team orders, according to team principal Cyril Abiteboul. The Korean manufacturer’s two full-time drivers Neuville and Tanak are split by eight points in the title race after last weekend’s Rally Latvia with […]
Hyundai calls for investigation into bizarre Tanak arch incident
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 […]
Tanak unharmed after high-speed crash at Rally Estonia
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 […]
Hyundai call to retire Tanak in Rally Poland was a “mistake”
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 […]
Impossible to avoid deer collision at Rally Poland with 0.26s to react
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] […]
Rally leader Tanak crashes out, Mikkelsen leads from debutant Sesks
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 […]
Surprise Sardinia WRC win “really cruel” on Ogier
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 […]
Hyundai explains Tanak’s “be safe, not push it” WRC Sardinia call
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 […]
Hyundai’s plan to help Tanak unlock potential from WRC car
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 […]