Ott Tanak is aware that he may not repeat his victory in Chile next week considering the fact that he has a new team and a new car, but he will do his maximum to finish at the top step of the podium.
The Estonian driver took his second win of 2023 at Rally Chile with M-Sport Ford and is the only WRC driver who has won this event as the South American country has hosted a WRC round only two times back in 2019 and in 2023. Tanak took a marvelous win there last year as his former team, M-Sport Ford, followed a different tyre strategy on Saturday afternoon compared to Hyundai and Toyota which suffered from punctures on the second pass of the longest stage of that day. Last but not least, it must be mentioned that Tanak is second on the championship standings right now and is 34 points behind the first Thierry Neuville which means that he will start second on the road next Friday, but the most important is that he has claimed only one victory with Hyundai so far in 2024 and needs more wins to close his gap from his teammate on the championship.
"The last time we were in Chile, the roads were very abrasive, which was challenging for tyre management but not so hard on the car", Tanak said.
"At the same time, it was quite demanding for the drivers with a mix of fast and slow sections - similar to Finland.
"There is a bit of everything in this event, but it’s a driver’s rally – it’s all about performance.
"Experience is always good, but it’s difficult to take anything forward from our win last year in a new car with a new team.
"In Chile, the weather can be a tricky element, particularly as we have had a lot of difficult conditions.
"The car needs to be performing very well and needs to be giving us good confidence.
"We need to do our maximum and target a win there for sure".
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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