Ott Tanak’s blistering speed on Rally Estonia should bode well for the next round of the FIA World Rally Championship, according to M-Sport Ford Team Principal Richard Millener.
Teams and crews now have a short turnaround window between rounds eight and nine of the competition, with Secto Rally Finland getting underway next Thursday.
Having been saddled with a five-minute penalty last Thursday morning following an engine change for his Puma Rally1, Tanak started his home fixture outside the top forty with Martin Jarveoja.
However, strong pace across the three legs elevated them up the order to a final position of eighth overall, with two bonus points on the Power Stage some reward for the duo’s efforts.
Whilst conceding the result was not what Tanak, Jarveoja or anyone associated with M-Sport Ford wanted, Millener said there are lots of positives to take from the display as preparations begin in earnest for the ‘Grand Prix on Gravel’.
“Of course we are all really disappointed. To start the weekend with a five-minute penalty is really a disaster, but we have to just take the penalty and look for other positives from the weekend,” he said.
“For me, there were a few: Ott’s pace and commitment on Friday was fantastic and seeing him get back to the top 10 in one-and-a-half days was incredibly impressive. There are still changes we need to work on going forward but I hope the speed shown can help us in Finland.”
He added: “I would like to take this chance to personally thank all of the Estonian fans for supporting Ott, Martin and the team over this tricky weekend.”
Tanak – who said finishing eighth “was the target” for the weekend after incurring the time penalty – has confirmed there are no plans to enter a one-day national event in the build-up to Finland as was the case for Estonia. Instead, the team will do all of its learning during a pre-event test.
The 2019 World Champion does not believe there is any more performance to be had from the Puma unless specific changes are made, such as the engine which Toyota introduced for Estonia.
“I would say we are at maximum capacity at the minute,” said Tanak. “For sure, Finland is very specific, so we will do a one-day test to do a bit of fine-tuning, but there aren’t any plans for big changes.”
In the drivers’ standings, Tanak slips behind Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville to fourth on 104 points – 66 behind event winner and current leader, Kalle Rovanpera.
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