Tänak wins, Lappi and Katsuta at fault

Breaking with its practices of recent years, M-Sport sent one of its drivers to an off-schedule race. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were indeed lined up at the start of the Otepää talveralli. THE rally took place around the locality of Otepää which is a stone's throw from Tartu and whose route is located in the same geographical area as the event listed in WRC. Eight special stages were on the program, totaling 110,28 km timed. A division offering 2 SS interspersed with assistance offered the teams the opportunity to work well on the settings of their car to adapt them to the snowy conditions. Evolving with the No. 8 on the doors, Ott Tänak did not have to suffer from the sweep. This could represent excellent training for next week when he will start 4^e Friday. The M-Sport driver did not provide details. Winner of the 8 special stages contested, he sometimes won at an average speed of more than 126 km/h, which was also a good rehearsal for what awaits him in Umeå. On a similar car, Jourdan Serderidis ranked 17^e. For Tänak, this is his first victory in a Ford since the 2017 Silveston Saaremaa Rally, an event on his island where he won with a Fiesta WRC. In Valga County, the Puma scored 2^e success of its history. If the M-Sport crew was able to win an easy Trofey, it worked less well for their rivals.

Katsuta and Lappi make the wall

Almost 700 km north of Otepää, the SM-Ralli Kuopio took place at the same time in Finland. Around this small town located 150 km northeast of Jyväskylä, 94,47 timed km and 8 special stages were on the program. For his 2^e race with the Hyundai i20 Rally1 Hybrid, Esapekka Lappi took command from SS1. The Finn scored 4 scratches and took the lead. At first equal, Takamoto Katsuta was knocked down. The Japanese returned to the lunch break 12 seconds late. When the proceedings resumed, he made a mistake by hitting a wall of powder which then caused his withdrawal. Already the leader, but this time with the path completely clear, Lappi continued to set the best times until he also made a mistake. Helped by spectators, he returned to the road, but had to settle for 31^e place. For his part as for Taka, there are positive points to take away from this race, but their exits are also messy.

Powered to the lead, Jari Huttunen won in his “old” Fabia R5, making good preparation for Sweden where he will aim for WRC2.