Resurgence leaves Ott Tanak chasing Acropolis Rally success
The overnight mood change, and the sense that things in the blue and orange corner may not be as bad as the media, fans and even some work colleagues are making out is confirmed. And to date it is all thanks to one man: Ott Tanak. Not one to hold back, he has repeatedly called for designers, technicians and engineers to work harder and to think smarter.
Since the new Rally1 hybrid regulations came to being at the start of the season, Hyundai Motorsport has looked all at sea. It was the last of the big three to fire up their hybrid-powered car and test it in anger as indecision at board level put a hold on work behind the scenes. Unsurprisingly, that handed the initiative to M-Sport Ford in Monte Carlo before Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR Yaris took charge in the hands of champion-elect, Kalle Rovanpera.
A win by the Estonian at Rally Italia Sardegna ended Rovanpera’s win streak and provided a fresh glimmer of hope for everyone working on site and back at the team’s headquarters in Alzenau. Following a troubled birth, the I20 N Rally1 appeared to have, at long last, turned a corner. Tanak, too, looked a touch happier - but he was not getting carried away. And he had every right to keep his expectations in check.
Rovanpera was back on the top step of the podium at Safari Rally Kenya and again at Rally Estonia as mechanical and set-up-related issues continued to hamper the I20 N Rally1. Tanak repeated his calls for more and at Rally Finland - a round the Korean marque has never won in all its years of competing in the World Rally Championship - he took the bull by the horns and consigned that stat to the bin. At points it wasn't pretty, and a brave pill had to be taken for some stages as the 2019 World champion battled to keep his nose in front, but it was job done.
A Hyundai win was expected on the next round in Belgium at Ypres Rally, although the bookies were giving better odds for Tanak's team-mate Thierry Neuville. In the end, he crashed out - as did Rovanpera, another tipped to run at the head of the field only to roll his car into one - and Tanak was ideally placed to capitalise to do the double despite a transmission scare.
“I guess everybody expected to see Thierry perform,” reflected Tanak. “It is his home rally and he knows all the stages, the surfaces and everything you need to know to go faster. There is no question that Thierry would be fast here whatever the car situation is. From our side, we were quite surprised, also on the shakedown, we still struggled quite a bit but we managed to regroup. We pulled it together and got the direction to go and you can see the potential is there and some wins are possible.”
Next up is Acropolis Rally in Greece this week and Tanak says there is no reason why a third straight win - and a fourth of the current campaign - is beyond his or the car's reach. “Acropolis Rally is a great event; the roads are smoother than they seem and nice to drive,” he said.
“Last year the weather was not what we were expecting, as it was a bit wet and damp, so we will see what the conditions are like this year. We are feeling positive after winning in Ypres, and as we were able to get on the podium in Greece last year, it is our hope that we can do the same again this weekend. Going from the tarmac of Belgium to gravel is a big change, but we know we can be strong on this surface after our wins in Italy and Finland,” he added.
Is it true that success breeds success? We will know better come Sunday morning.
