Toyota driver Elfyn Evans went wide on a corner during SS14 and clipped an arch hanging over the course.
Tanak was the next car on the stage and collected the blown arch.
The stage was duly stopped while Tanak and his co-driver tried to pull the arch off his car.
Tanak was interviewed at the end of the stage where he took aim at event organisers for not stopped the stage sooner.
“I think this describes exactly how safe hands we are in terms of race control,” Tanak jibed.
“Probably they were having a nice meal and good wine.
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“From the camera, you could see the road is blocked and the car is coming so well done race control, you are really taking care of us.
“We’re okay, but f****** hell. Front of camera, you could see it’s blocked and you keep it running. Hopefully it was a good wine.”
We need words @TGR_WRC 👀#RallyLatvia #WRC pic.twitter.com/A0OBuTCEM4
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) July 20, 2024
M-Sport Ford driver Adrien Fourmaux said he felt sorry for Tanak.
It’s the second notable incident for the Hyundai driver, who hit a deer in Poland.
“It’s quite unlucky for him because it also happened, an animal in Poland and then here the arch,” said Fourmaux.
“I feel sorry for him.”
Event organisers issued a statement in the wake of the incident.
“Car number 33 [Elfyn Evans] left the stage, damaging the supports of an inflatable branding arch towards the end of SS14 on Saturday afternoon at Tet Rally Latvia,” it read.
“It was clear there was damage to the arch and two staff, positioned specifically to ensure the safety of the arch moved immediately to remove it from the road.
“They were not able to do this prior to the arrival of car number 8 [Ott Tanak].”
Elfyn Evans’ wild ride 🤪#WRC | #TetRallyLatvia 🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/F1QPiATVJp
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) July 20, 2024
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul as bemused as his driver over the incident.
“What’s bizarre is the time it took for anyone who is responsible for monitoring the situation and assessing what to do,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.
“We are in a world of extreme connectivity, extreme agility, and I think that we should make sure that we have the devices that are needed in order to red flag when there is something that is totally blocking the road. They [Ott and Martin] had absolutely no escape, nowhere to go.”
Abiteboul said the FIA had contacted Hyundai after the incident. He said an investigation of the incident and the sluggish reaction is a must.
“I would call for, simply, a clear and transparent investigation about the steps that will be taken to make sure that it doesn’t happen again in the future, because it’s very clear that there was enough time to red flag the stage,” he said.
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