Tänak: “The first step was the key”

Ott Tänak stood out at Rally of Sweden by relegating their closest opponents to almost a minute. The Estonian also received 5 bonus points from the Power Stage, which will allow him to arrive in Mexico (March 7-11) with a lead of seven points over Thierry Neuville.

The seven-time winner in WRC believes he did the hardest in the first stage where he had to limit his delay given his position on the road (3rd behind Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville). The driver of the No. 8 Yaris WRC finished the day in second place, just 2 seconds behind leader Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) who was going to give up the next day.

“We had a very nice weekend., confirmed the one who won for the first time in the Scandinavian event. The first stage was key when we had to limit our loss of time with the conditions, but we were able to ride at a good pace afterwards with as little risk as possible. »

“We were content to preserve our tires on the last day for the Power Stage in order to be able to attack when the time came., said the Estonian. Everything worked perfectly and I was comfortable in the car. We have a very successful team and it is fantastic to have these results at the start of the season. »

Ott Tänak's performance did not leave his boss Tommi Mäkinen, the Team Principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing in the WRC, who won three times at the Swedish Rally during his career (1996, 1998 and 1999). The Japanese manufacturer thus took the lead in the Manufacturers' Championship at the same time with one point ahead of Hyundai WRT.

“It's great to get a victory in the second round of the season and lead in both championships, commented the four-time WRC champion. Ott dominated the entire weekend showing everyone how to ride in these difficult conditions. He is very strong at the moment. When I look at it, I see myself 20 years ago when I was looking to win the title. »

Discover the analysis of the Swedish Rally carried out by our special correspondent in issue 2204 of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Thursday on newsstands.