WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal
Portugal
Starts: Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 7:00:00 AM
ERC Bauhaus Royal Rally of Scandinavia
Sweden
Starts: Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 7:00:00 AM
Euro RX of France
France
Starts: Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 6:00:00 AM

Fri 01 Mar 2024

"Clean" Safari important for Tänak

Hyundai Motorsport driver Ott Tänak heads to this month’s Safari Rally Kenya (28 - 31 March) in search of a mistake-free event as he looks to close the gap to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship table.

The Estonian’s hopes of a big-points return to an i20 N Rally1 went awry when he slipped into a ditch early in Rallye Monte-Carlo. The first morning’s competition on round two in Sweden went the same way, when Tänak hit a snowbank and damaged the radiator. Forced out for the rest of Friday in Umeå, the 2019 world champion ended the event 41st.


He heads to Africa for round three 27 points adrift of his championship-leading team-mate and title rival Thierry Neuville.


Tänak said: “From my side, definitely too many mistakes to start the season but we know we can be a lot better. We’re looking forward to having a clean rally in Kenya.


“Obviously the mistake on Friday [in Sweden] was frustrating and afterwards even more so. We felt better in the car on Friday when the roads were a bit more slippery, but when the grip improved we just weren’t comfortable.”


After scoring a distant podium on the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya, Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja have struggled to make an impression on the Naivasha-based rally.