Rally Finland: After another mistake, Ott Tänak continues his difficult season

Author of a modest 5^e time in SS2, Ott Tänak had not started in the best way its rally from Finland. He was 6^e 5'' from the leader when starting SS3. In the latter, he covered 2 km then his Hyundai left the road in a curve to the left and descended into a ravine where a tree awaited him. The crew managed to get out of the car on their own, but Martin Järveoja was evacuated to the hospital where he had to remain under observation for the night. A few hours after the accident, the team announced the definitive withdrawal of Ott Tänak who will not score any points in Finland.

For his return to the Korean manufacturer after an interlude at M-Sport in 2023, Ott Tänak made many mistakes. As early as Monte-Carlo, he was trapped on a patch of ice on Friday morning, compromising his chances. A few weeks later, he hit a wall of snow in the Umeå region, still saving a few points on Sunday with the new distribution established in 2024. Kenya confirmed this trend with the collision against a large stone and again a correction of the situation during the last step. After three races, questions were already being asked about his title chances. Croatia did not deny this assertion since it was unable to do better than 4^e with another nice scare on Sunday.

The arrival of more classic meetings on land heralded its return to the forefront with a 2^e place in Portugal and a superb victory in Sardinia. This good impression made him a formidable candidate for the 3 very fast rounds scheduled during the summer. Poland was a disaster with a deer hit on SS2. Now a specialist in the exercise, Ott was able to leave Mikolajki with the Sunday reward then he escaped several events in Latvia to register more units allowing him to come back to just 8 points behind. Thierry Neuville. The match between the two Hyundai teammates looked promising. It didn't even last 24 km. What changes for Ott Tänak is that he will not be able to try to save a few units on Sunday, since he will probably already be at home, Estonia being very close.

In the championship, it is too early to say whether this abandonment will have major consequences. What is clear is that this will force him to take risks to win races and get ahead of drivers (Evans? Ogier ?) who will surpass it. Given what he has demonstrated since the start of the year, he will be under pressure, because his reliability is not in good shape. The boy being made of ice, it is not certain that this situation would not please him even more...