Three official teams in full-scale testing in Estonia

Featuring the fastest stages on the World Rally Championship calendar (WRC), the Rally of Finland (July 26-29) requires special preparation. In order to best prepare for the eighth round of the season, three official teams will compete on similar paths, on the Estonian Rally (July 13-15).

Citroën will enter a C3 WRC for Craig Breen. “This will be my third appearance at this event after 2011 and 2015, and even if the stages have apparently changed quite a bit since then, this participation promises to be excellent preparation for the Rally Finland”, explains the Briton, 10th in the general classification (34 points).

The director of Citroën Racing, Pierre Budard, is counting on this event to refine the settings of a car which finished fifth last year with Craig Breen. “It will also be instructive from a technical point of view and complementary to our classic test session because it allows us to use a greater variety of roads.

Likewise, when we ride in real racing conditions, from the notes, we learn other lessons than those we learn in tests where the driver quickly knows the terrain by heart. »

Toyota will trust the local Ott Tänak to tune the Yaris before Finland. The Estonian won his national event in 2014. “The aim of this participation is to rediscover the sensations of driving at high speed after winding events (recently Sardinia. Editor’s note) », explains the one who occupies 3rd place overall (77 points).

Hayden Paddon will represent the interests of Hyundai ; the South Korean brand was inspired by the manufacturers mentioned above. “We have seen teams in the past who took this rally as a test for Finland, and it worked out well for them.”, says Alain Penasse, Hyundai team manager.

Looking forward to Rally Estonia this weekend – a perfect high speed test for Rally Finland. The road surface will be a little different but testing in a ‘competition’ environment and adjusting to a WRC because on fast stages will be perfect perpetration. Husband @RallyEstonia pic.twitter.com/KpStE8MZpD

— Hayden Paddon (@HaydenPaddon) July 9, 2018

There is only M-Sport Ford not to line up at Rally Estonia; will this choice have an impact on the performance of the Ford Fiesta? Sébastien Ogier ?