Tänak admits he still has a lot to learn with the i20

His failed start to the season Rally Monte-Carlo, with an impressive and fortunately minor accident, this time seems well behind Ott Tänak.

The neo-pilot Hyundai Motorsport won this weekend in Mexico, at the end of an event cut from its last day due to the coronavirus pandemic, a second second place after Sweden, showing that the world champion is back in the game against its usual rivals Sébastien Ogier et Thierry Neuville.

The only Hyundai driver able to play at the front after the mechanical problems of Neuville and Dani Sordo, Tänak almost lost everything in a collision with ultimately reduced consequences.

“We more or less lost the rear and the suspension was quite damaged, recognizes the Estonian. It was a difficult situation but luckily I kept going and it was still drivable.

It was a difficult morning. We tried to repair and we tried to complete the loop. We lost a lot of time but a little less than expected. »

C’est finalement au terme d’un beau duel avec Teemu Suninen (M-Sport Ford) que le champion du monde assure la deuxième place. Tänak estime toutefois ne pas être encore à 100% des possibilités de sa Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.

“The car is definitely fast, analyze old driver Toyota Gazoo Racing. She has a lot of potential but there are a lot of things I still need to learn and some things that are quite specific.

I'm sure we have a lot of work to do and, finally, we have a first experience on land. »

An experience that Tänak, like his WRC colleagues, will only be able to put forward from May, in Portugal, the Rally Argentina having been postponed due to the coronavirus. Uncertainty still remains on the Lusitanian Channel, while European countries are increasingly putting confinement in place among populations.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Rally of Mexico, produced by our special correspondent, in AUTO issue 2259hebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.