ESTONIA’S OTT TÄNAK COMPLETED A CLEAN SWEEP OF SPEED TEST VICTORIES AT NESTE RALLY FINLAND ON SATURDAY MORNING TO CONFIRM HIS MASTERY OF THIS EIGHTH ROUND OF THE FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP.
Having broken clear of Mads Østberg with victories in the opening two special stages, the Estonian made it four out of four by winning the roller-coaster Kakaristo and Tuohikotanen to return to service in Jyväskylä with a 23.7sec lead.
Tanak said he was driving ‘at my own rhythm’, giving the clear impression that there is more pace to come from him and his Toyota Yaris if needed.
Østberg was second in Kakaristo and third in Tuohikotanen, the Citroën C3 driver admitting to a couple of small mistakes. “We’re a little bit focused on Latvala behind. We seem to have the gap to him under control but Ott seems to have things under control as well,” he said.
Latvala posted top three times in both tests in his Yaris, meaning the same trio filled the leading three places on all four stages. He trailed Østberg by 20.9sec and while he reiterated he could not match team-mate Tänak, he pledged to keep fighting to reel in the Norwegian.
Hayden Paddon retained fourth in his Hyundai i20 despite ‘a small problem that disturbed me quite a lot’ but the Kiwi has a wary eye on Esapekka Lappi. The 2017 winner relegated Teemu Suninen to sixth and his next target was 13.6sec ahead.
Sébastien Ogier moved back ahead of M-Sport Ford team-mate Elfyn Evans by 1.9sec but the Frenchman was struggling to come to terms with the dramatic new aerodynamic package at the rear of his Fiesta.
Craig Breen and championship leader Thierry Neuville completed the leaderboard, the Belgian seemingly resigned to his fate as the slippery road conditions continued to hamper the early starters. He is second in the running order after starting first yesterday.
“We knew that at some point being first on the road was going to be a disadvantage but we can live with that. We’ll be happy as long as Ogier doesn’t take too many points,” he said.
Top 15 classification after SS15 from Rally Finland, the eight round of the 2018 World Rally Championship.
1. Ott Tanak EST Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing 1hr 38m 54.0s
2. Mads Ostberg NOR Citroen C3 WRC +23.7s
3. Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +44.6s
4. Hayden Paddon NZL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1m 16.5s
5. Esapekka Lappi FIN Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing +1m 30.1s
6. Teemu Suninen FIN M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 33.8s
7. Sebastien Ogier FRA M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 52.7s
8. Elfyn Evans GBR M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC 17 +1m 54.6s
9. Craig Breen IRE Citroen C3 Abu Dhabi WRC +2m 24.9s
10. Thierry Neuville BEL Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +3m 09.2s
11. Kalle Rovanpera FIN Skoda Fabia +5m 40.9s
12. Eerik Pietarinen FIN Skoda Fabia R5 +6m 32.3s
13. Andreas Mikkelsen NOR Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +6m 57.3s
14. Jari Huttunen FIN Hyundai i20 R5 +7m 07.3s
15. Ole Christian Veiby NOR Skoda Fabia R5 +7m 08.9s
(Classification: Crash.net)