Hyundai Motorsport driver Craig Breen says he can see and feel Ott Tänak’s influence on the i20 Coupe WRC as he readies himself for this week’s Rally Estonia.
Estonia’s 2019 World Rally Championship Promotional event marked the Irishman’s debut with Hyundai, and Breen was quick to praise the work of both his team and team-mate in the last 12 months.
Breen told DirtFish: “I’ve done a day of testing in Estonia a couple of weeks ago and the car has changed a lot since I was in it last.
“It’s obviously had some testing in Finland in the summer and it’s come a long way since I drove it in Sweden [in February]. It’s definitely a different beast to when I was in at last.”
Asked if that was world champion Tänak’s influence, Breen replied: “Yes, it’s definitely a factor; it’s not just about who he is, it’s about where he’s been [with M-Sport and Toyota].
“Ott’s driven a few different cars and he knows these kind of roads and how to take confidence from these kind of roads.
“Who’s to say if it’s because of his experience or it’s because of the recent downtime which has given everybody the chance to think a little bit more and analyse more deeply to come back stronger.
“The whole team has done a fantastic job with the car.”
Breen pointed to high-speed stability as the main area of improvement, adding: “The car gives more confidence, I feel it’s more secure. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad to start with, but the aero does make a big difference on the high-speed.
“I felt this more at the rear of the car, but globally the car has improved and I definitely feel more confident in it.”
In terms of a result, Breen said a third WRC podium would be the ideal outcome – even if the heavy rain on Thursday had taken the edge off what would have been a preferential starting position, further back on a dry gravel road.
“There won’t be the massive cleaning effect we’d hoped for on Saturday, but it would be nice to be in fighting around the top five and if I could be sniffing at the podium it would be better again,” said Breen, who was fourth on Friday evening’s opening superspecial.
“We’ll definitely be giving it all we can.”
