Ott Tänak will make his first competitive appearance as World Rally Champion at home in Estonia when he tackles the Viru Rally next Saturday.
Tänak will drive a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC on the seven-stage event based in Rakvere, west of Tallinn – at the other end of the country from Estonia’s proposed WRC counter.
Tänak is no stranger to the rally and the Virumaa roads. This will be his seventh start on the Viru Rally and a good opportunity to bag his first win, having finished second on the last two occasions (both times driving a Group N Subaru Impreza and losing out to a Georg Gross-driven Ford Focus RS WRC).
Tänak said: “I’m glad that we have the chance to get back into the competition with our Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC again. Especially the fact that it happens in Estonia. We had a productive test in Finland earlier this month and now it’s important to adapt with the competition mode and get back to the rhythm.
“The roads of Virumaa have always been challenging and I like it, that’s exactly what we need now. In the beginning of my career, I spent a lot of time at the Kehala Rallytrack and I’m looking forward to get back there in this new era WRC car.”
Tänak will be back in action aboard the Hyundai a month later, when he joins Thierry Neuville in a two-pronged i20 Coupe WRC attack at the Rally di Alba in Italy.
