Defending World Rally Champion Ott Tänak says making the most of the conditions next month’s Ypres Rally Belgium could throw at drivers is crucial if he’s to stand any chance of finding a way back into this year’s title race.
The Estonian sits 28 points behind Elfyn Evans with 60 points on offer from the final two rallies of the season. By his own admission, a successful defence of his World Rally Championship title is a long shot, but Belgium in November could just about give him a shot.
If, as expected, the weather starts juggling curve balls in Flanders from November 20-22, it’s possible to win – and lose – big. If the rain comes and the mud spreads, we can expect an autumnal Monte Carlo minus the mountains.
“The conditions in Ypres can maybe give the chance to gamble and if we can do this then we need to make a chance for ourselves,” Tänak told DirtFish.
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“We definitely have nothing to lose. For the championship, sure, it’s better to have two rallies, so I was happy to have this extra chance with Monza coming at the end of the year.”
Victory on his home event in Estonia last month pulled Tänak back to within 13 points of the top of the table, but successive mechanical failures in Turkey and Italy have widened that gap by 15 points.
Tänak wasn’t interested in delving too deeply into the reasons behind the steering and suspension issues which struck his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC and cost him crucial time in Marmaris and Sardinia respectively.
“It’s [been a] difficult couple of rallies, but the team is working on this,” he added.
Hyundai team principal Andrea Adamo shouldered the blame for Tänak only lifting 17 points from the last two rallies.
“Hyundai has failed him twice,” he said. “Twice we had technical failures that affected his race. This is a total Hyundai responsibility.”
