Ott Tänak went “to the limit, and even beyond” to seek victory in Finland

And three for Ott Tänak ! The Estonian won a third time on the Rally of Finland on Sunday, after his first two victories in 2018 and 2019. And among the three, this year's success was undoubtedly the most difficult to achieve.

Dans un contexte très tendu chez Hyundai, avec une i20 N pas assez performante et peu fiable depuis le début de la saison, le champion du monde 2019 a avoué que cette victoire avait un goût de soulagement. “I really enjoyed this rally, it was a special rally, declared the winner of the weekend. It's never easy to win here and in reality, we didn't even expect to fight for victory. After Estonia we weren't very confident that we could suddenly be competitive here. But in a way Rally Finland is different, it's not Estonia. »

“I can't say that I managed during this rally! » assures Tänak

Even more surprisingly, Ott Tänak never let go of the controls between SS2 and the Power Stage. The Hyundai managed to perform well on all the stages, even if there was not much optimism on Thursday evening. “Thursday was quite frustrating, the shakedown wasn't very good. During the first special, things weren't really working and that gave me extra motivation to move forward (…). I can't really say that I managed during this rally, certainly not! I was really at the limit and even beyond the limit for most of the rally. It was only in the last two or three stages that we were able to manage a little. »

Above all, the i20 N was in the match with the Yaris throughout the entire event, without experiencing the slightest problem.pine reliability. A rare enough fact this season to be noted. Ott Tänak was able to hold off the Japanese cars, despite the pressure exerted by the two Finns, Rovanperä and Lappi. “As long as you have the lead, you have to try to protect it. On Friday, Esapekka tried, then Elfyn. Kalle obviously opened the road and we were a little better placed against it. But since Saturday morning, everyone was in the same position and it started to be a fair fight. Kalle was getting closer but the gap we managed to build on Friday was still quite big, so this time we managed to push him back. »

A new dynamic for Hyundai?

Pour la 2e fois cette saison, Hyundai a réussi à s’imposer et à dominer Toyota, qui plus est sur les terres de l’équipe japonaise, basée à Jyväskylä. Une deuxième victoire qui pourrait enfin placer l’écurie coréenne sur les bons rails dans cette nouvelle ère hybride. “Overall, it’s definitely important for the team. We have known for a long time the work we have to do. We weren't in the game and things didn't go the way they should have. But all this time, Thierry and I tried to keep a positive energy with the belief that if we did things right, we could be competitive. We keep pushing and as we saw today, victory is possible. » At the end of the 8th event of the season, Ott Tänak is now second in the championship, but 94 points behind Rovanperä.

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