Tänak scored a second successive victory and third of the current WRC campaign to narrow the gap to series leader Kalle Rovanperä to 72 points. But he refuses to rest on those laurels and wants more success and more speed.
“We know we can still improve,” Tänak said. “We know we can be stronger, we will carry on working hard.
“To win in Ypres is a big surprise and I have no idea how we did it! We were not expecting to come here and take the victory. I’m pushing hard at the moment to show the team that we can do great things if we start getting everything right.
“The speed was enough to maintain the position [in Ypres] and to keep a good rhythm until the end.”
The victory was Tänak’s first on asphalt for the South Korean manufacturer and his first overall on the blacktop since ADAC Rallye Deutschland in August 2019.
Deputy team director Julien Moncet said the Belgian win coming on the back of Tänak’s Secto Rally Finland success demonstrated Hyundai Motorsport is moving in the right direction.
Moncet said: “This is a great victory after another fantastic drive from Ott and Martin [Järveoja, co-driver] to get us on top of the podium again. We have taken back-to-back wins, first on gravel in Finland and now on Tarmac in Ypres, so we have shown the car is capable of winning everywhere and this is really encouraging.”
“We had a lot of people from the factory visiting the rally over the weekend, so this is very much a shared result for everyone in the team. We have a very positive dynamic right now, and perhaps the biggest challenge we have in front of us is to maintain this trajectory. For now, we will just enjoy the moment.”
Finland
Italy
Hungary