World Rally Champion Ott Tänak is out of Rally Turkey after stopping 15.5 miles into the third stage with a suspected mechanical issue aboard his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.
Tänak, who started the day in seventh place after being frustrated by looming dust clouds on Friday’s second and final stage, was setting impressive split times against those ahead of him on the road – Pierre-Louis Loubet, Gus Greensmith and Esapekka Lappi.
But four miles from the end of the stage, his i20 Coupe WRC appeared to lose steering and veered straight into a bank, becoming beached. Tänak was visibly trying to steer the car but it would not turn.
He managed to move the car to find an easier place to repair it, looking towards the front-right corner, but he walked away from the car after inspecting the damage more closely.
“Basically two seconds before we had a steering temperature alarm,” Tänak was heard saying to his team when he stopped.
It is potentially a massive blow for Tänak, who won Rally Estonia a fortnight ago to move 13 points shy of leader Sébastien Ogier in the title race.
With potentially just two rallies left after Turkey, any DNF is incredibly costly. Tänak already has one to his name following a crash on the Monte Carlo Rally at the start of the season.
