Tanak back into podium position thanks to SS16 win

SS16 is a repeat of SS12, and the fast, technical 21.25km Swietajno test is a favourite for its fast, twisty and unsighted sections, making it a real challenge. This morning’s running resulted in a stage win for Ott Tanak, and he’s managed to deliver again this time around.

A time of 10:05.2 means that he’s 2.8 seconds quicker than joint second fastest Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen.

Latvala is enjoying the increase in pace that he’s been able to show in these past two stages, but it hasn’t quite been enough for him to hold third place from Tanak. ‘Generally I am happy, but I have been struggling in the mornings on this rally.’ he commented. ‘I should be able to do these sort of times in the morning. The dust was bad, but I was able to see.’

Mikkelsen’s matched time with Latvala means that he’s also lost time to Tanak; he’s only 10.7 seconds away, and so very much within reach despite there not being many stages left in the rally – Andreas has also reduced Sebastien Ogier’s rally lead to just 4.7 seconds, though he doesn’t seem to be feeling too optimistic. ‘So much dust, I couldn’t see, so difficult. I really pushed to the maximum, and took some risks because I couldn’t see anything. I think that was our chance…’

Sebastien Ogier, Hayden Paddon and Kris Meeke complete the top six, and that’s all from Poland’s big countryside stages for the day. All that remains is the 2.5km Super Special , and with only two stages tomorrow, everyone will be pushing hard. Tonight’s remaining action begins at 20:18 local time.