Tänak “not sure what to expect” in Türkiye

Ott Tänak is the strong man of the moment WRC. The pilot Toyota reste sur deux victoires en Finlande et en Allemagne et apparaît encore comme un favori au Rally of Türkiye contested next week on a completely new course.

“We have clearly had very good results recently, but I continue to approach the season rally by rally, comments the Estonian. I don't really know what to expect for Turkey because we don't have a lot of knowledge about this event. Everyone talks about a brittle course. We will have to see what happens during the reconnaissance. »

The regulations having prohibited manufacturers from training in the region, Ott Tänak and his teammates prepared for this new event in the south of Portugal to find similar conditions.

“We know it will be hot. Our testing has been good preparation for this and we are doing our best to be prepared. There's not much left to do now until we get there and experience the stages.", adds the title contender back 13 points behind Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport).

Jari-Matti Latvala has rediscovered the preparation for a new event, the WRC calendar having remained stable in recent years.

“This is the first time in many years that I have prepared for a completely new WRC event, confirms the Finn still looking for a first success this season. There will be a lot of unknowns: the grades, the characteristics of the roads or even the change in surface between the two passages. I remember it was very hot when I drove in Turkey in 2008 (2nd in a 2007 Ford Focus WRC). The stages were long and very demanding on the tires. »

“From what I saw, it would be quite similar to this event and the Acropolis Rally (Greece). The tests went very well for me, I was very satisfied with the car and we made good progress with the suspensions”, specifies the Finn.

Esapekka Lappi confirms his compatriot's words by mentioning tire management as the main element to obtain a good result.

“The event should be very rough with loose dirt and tire management will be crucial, says Esapekka Lappi. The second pass should therefore be essential. We saw during testing that the degradation of the rubber will be quite high on rough roads with temperatures around 35°C. The tests went very well and we found good settings on the car. I'm looking forward to the challenge, it's a chance to learn something new. I will try to improve when I start first on the soft roads because it has not been a strong point for me so far. »

Toyota Gazoo Racing a également beaucoup à jouer au niveau du classement Constructeurs puisque le constructeur japonais pointe à 13 points de Hyundai.