Nonetheless, Tanak will be welcomed back into the M-Sport fold in place of the retired Hirvonen, the Estonian eager to make the most of his renewed opportunity.
“I’m really happy to have been given another chance,” Tanak, who will compete with co-driver Raigo Molder, said. “I know it’s going to be a big challenge and a big responsibility, but I’m ready for it and I’m really looking forward to the season ahead.
“We’ll need to find our rhythm in the first few events, but I’ve been working with M-Sport for a long time and I have a lot of mileage with the Fiesta RS WRC so I hope it won’t take too long to get up to speed. We have some good experience of most of the rallies and I think that there are some events where we could do really well.
“I’ve definitely grown as a driver and I want to thank Malcolm [Wilson] for giving me this second chance. We worked really hard this year and I think we proved that we have the potential; but none of that would have been possible without Malcolm and M-Sport, and for that, I am extremely grateful.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received in recent years. There are so many people out there who have stayed with us on this long journey; I am really humbled by that and truly thankful for their faith in me.”
Though he has only had two events in a WRC Fiesta in 2014, Tanak competed in WRC-2 series at the wheel of a Drive DMACK Fiesta, peaking with a class win in Poland