Tänak asks for time to tame the Hyundai: “I just need to understand it”

Time for adaptation, or rather rehabilitation, Ott Tänak asks for more. For his return to Hyundai after a season spent with M-Sport Ford, the Estonian lived through a Rally Monte-Carlo mixed: never really in the running for victory, the 2019 world champion saw his teammate from afar Thierry Neuville achieve a prestigious victory. The Baltic driver, fourth at the finish of the event alpine, was able to have a real overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the i20 N version 2024, more than a year after leaving the Korean team.

“I would say the car is really not bad, he commented after the first round of the season. It’s obvious she’s very competitive and has some strong points. There are some things, let's say, that I didn't know before coming [to Monte-Carlo], and it's obvious that there were a lot more dry areas than in previous tests. Without experience it was very difficult to make the right decisions, but I would say that in the end we weren't too wrong. The car handles well, actually. She is much more in the [performance] window. I just need to understand her, to know what she likes. »

Only two days of testing in Sweden for Tänak

With now greater knowledge of the Hyundai i20N, Ott Tänak wants to unlock the full potential of the Korean vehicle in the rounds to come. Next meeting: the Swedish Rally, which he won aboard the Ford Puma last year. As preparation for the Scandinavian event, the Estonian was able to benefit from two days of testing in Umeå to get used to driving on snow with the Hyundai. “We will see where we are, did he declare. But you know, on these [tests], you only drive on a four kilometer road and that's it. When you move on to real rallying, everything starts to be different. »

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