Tanak suffers major smash at Rallye Monte Carlo

World Rally Champion Ott Tanak is out of Rallye Monte Carlo after suffering a huge crash on stage four.

Ott Tanak has endured a nightmare start to the defence of his World Rally Championship crown after suffering a huge off at Rallye Monte Carlo.

The Estonian driver came off midway through the fourth stage of the 2020 WRC opener after drifting off the road and down a steep verge which sent him and co-driver Martin Jarveoja into a violent crash which saw them tumble a hill before stopping on the road below.

Onboard replays showed Tanak dropping his front-right wheel on to an icy grass verge going into a small chicane which unsettled his Hyundai before tumbling off the road at around 180km/h.

Sébastien Loeb – Ma ligne de conduite@SebLoebMLDC

Rallye Monte-Carlo 2020
ES4 | St-Clément-sur-Durance – Freissinières 1 (20,68 km)
ÉVÉNEMENT
Grosse sortie de route pour Ott Tänak. L’équipage est OK.#WRC #HMSGOfficial #RallyeMonteCarlo

Both Tanak and Jarveoja were reported as okay by officials after the crash but, unsurprisingly, have retired from the running at Rallye Monte Carlo. The pair have been sent to hospital for precautionary checks as standard procedure following a heavy crash.

Tanak has previously finished on the podium at the last three consecutive Rallye Monte Carlo events.

At the end of stage four, St-Clement-sur-Durance – Freissinieres 1, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans leads by 3.4 seconds from Tanka’s Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville with Sebastien Ogier in third place a further 2.1 seconds behind.