Tanak in control heading into final day of Rally Italia Sardegna
The Estonian last visited the top step of the podium at Arctic Rally Finland 15 months ago, and despite being in contention for a win since then, success has continued to elude him and countryman Martin Järveoja.
Tanak's performance on the second day of Rally Italia Sardegna was largely faultless - as highlighted by a string of quickest times at the wheel of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car - and bore many of the hallmarks from his title-winning days when he was part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing set-up.
The 2019 World Champion was gifted top spot in the early throws of Saturday - the longest day of the weekend following the cancellation of Friday's final two stages by organisers for safety reasons - when the involvement of overnight leader Esapekka Lappi came to an abrupt – and spectacular – conclusion.
10.6km into ‘Tempio Pausania’, a heavy compression through a narrow section projected Lappi's GR Yaris to one side of the road where the right rear wheel kissed a rock with this in turn speering the car to the other side. The second impact was less forgiving than the first as it ripped the left rear tyre off and, in the process, damaged the suspension. Having trailed by seven tenths of a second, Tanak now led by 21.5 seconds.
It was the first of three stage wins enjoyed by Tanak, who returned to the lunch service halt over half-a-minute clear of Breen – the only person who succeeded in breaking his run of scratch times. Despite the gap widening, the Irishman was actually pleased with his speed compared to Friday, the only blot in his copybook being less than perfect pace notes for some sections of SS11.
Dani Sordo’s remarkable rise through the field continued, meanwhile. Having languished outside the top ten at the beginning of Friday, he put in the hard yards to sit third overall in an I20 N Rally1 car prone to oversteer. He was equally distracted for much of the morning’s closing stage – ‘Coiluna – Loelle’ with a flapping bonnet that was directly in his line of sight. “I don’t know why it’s happening,” said the WRC veteran. “We were working on the car before the stage and maybe it wasn't closed so well.”
Sordo remained within striking distance of Breen – 10.3 seconds to be exact – while M-Sport Ford driver Pierre-Louis Loubet continued to linger in his rear-view mirror despite a front right puncture on the first test, and an overshoot as he approached a square right, allowing all-important seconds to ebb away.
Team-mate Adrien Fourmaux continued to play the long game, knowing a puncture could spell disaster in his attempt to leave the Mediterranean island with some meaningful points come Sunday afternoon. He was 17.7 seconds shy of Loubet and 51 seconds clear of Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera. Takamoto Katsuta was a safe seventh and a battling Gus Greensmith eighth in his Puma Rally 1.
Like Lappi, Thierry Neuville was another to fall foul of Sardinia’s gnarly roads. He finished Friday on a charge and picked up where he left off this morning before that came to an end on the re-run of ‘Tempio Pausania’. His Hyundai i20 N Rally1 was sent into a role when it ran wide and the rear left wheel tapped a bank. The Belgian managed to get going again, albeit at a snail’s pace, but not long after steam could be seen billowing from the engine bay and with that it was an early bath.
Tanak kicked off the afternoon loop in similarily dominant fashion with consecutive stage victories on SS14 and SS15 to put more daylight between him and Breen - but it wasn't without its drama. "I am very surprised. I always felt like I was losing a lot," he said after SS14. "I was really struggling with the engine – it's really difficult with the driveability – but the traction must have been good."
Breen wasn't exactly happy, either, although he refused to elaborate on what the “small issue” with his Puma Rally1 was. Sordo lost out on SS14 by electing to put hard tyres on the back of his I20 N – a decison he took full responsibility for and called it “stupid” – before he escaped a wild moment near the end of the next test - 'Monte Lerno di Pattada'. “I touched the barriers and I am lucky to be here! I don't know how I did it,” he said.
Behind them, Loubet remained in fourth spot as he continued to tip-toe his way around the plethora of rocks and boulders that lay in wait off the racing line, while a slow front-left puncture for Fourmaux eased the pressure on the young Frenchman somewhat. Rovanpera, meanwhile, was prioritising points over positions in sixth.
Stage win number six quickly followed for Tanak on Saturday's penultimate stage - 'Coiluna - Loelle' - before the final timed run 'Monte Lerno di Pattada' - was interupted when Fourmaux got out of shape on a left-hander and ended up in amongst the bushes. The stage was halted for a time so that the Frenchman's Puma Rally1, which was beached in a dangerous position, could be extracted by a recovery truck.
Sordo traversed the test at non-competitive speeds and when it got going again Breen's run was interupted by a marshal standing at an access road holding a physical red-flag meaning he immediately had to back off and abort his run. Tanak was then given the all-clear before, two-thirds of the way through, he received an in-car message to complete the remainder of the test at liaison speeds.
"I got a red flag message, it was a proper message, but I have no idea what is happening," he said. "Our run today was very good and I had a great feeling in the car," he added.
Tanak's exact lead - and how the episode has affected those behind him, especially Loubet who cleared 'Monte Lerno di Pattada' in stage mode - was quickly resolved and put it at 46 seconds over Breen, with Sordo a further 20.8 seconds in arrears in third. Loubet, Rovanpera, Katsuta and Greensmith complete the Rally1 runners, while owing to suspension damage Elfyn Evans was forced to retire for the second day in a row.
