In a sensational return to the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team, Ott Tänak has started working on the development of the Japanese manufacturer’s 2027-specification car.
Tänak, who won his 2019 world title with Toyota, spent his first full day back in a factory car on a Croatian development test on Thursday. Talking to DirtFish, Tänak confirmed he will work with Toyota for the rest of the season – but was quick to point out that his return to rallying didn’t signify a return to the WRC.
“I was asked [by the team] quite recently,” he said, “and it was nice call to take. Obviously, I took my break and, yeah, it’s been nice to do my own stuff, but this opportunity came along, we know the background to the team and I was excited to get involved.
“It’s a nice balance to have my own time and to be driving some rally cars. Today (Thursday) was my first day in the car and it was a full day, a lot of driving – we’ll do the same tomorrow. The car has done, already, quite a lot of mileage, so it’s not like it’s the first days anymore.”
Asked for his views on the new car, the identity of which has yet to be confirmed, Tänak added: “We know the regulation is quite a big change and it’s now the job of the team to get everything to max out. We know it’s going to be a very, very big challenge to beat the Rally2 cars. It’s a big job.”
The big question is, of course, what Tänak’s plans are beyond the end of this season; will he be back in 2027?
“Honestly,” he said, “[there’s] no plan at the moment. I obviously have a kind of desire to drive the rally car, but doing these couple of test days after every couple of weeks is much better balance than doing the rallies like they are going in the calendar at the moment.
“I really enjoy it, I can still do all the mileage, I can drive some good cars in a very good company. I can still be somehow useful, which I enjoy.
“The regulation is really different, and I don’t know when I last did proper development testing – maybe it was back in 2016 with M-Sport or something like that. It’s been a long, long time since we’ve done a development program as such.”
Tänak hasn’t driven a Toyota since being crowned world champion at the end of 2019. He’s happy to be back.
“It’s definitely nice,” he said. “I know so many people here. And yeah, since a long time, we have also some good memories which we share. So, yeah, it feels nice and it’s working very well.”
