Tänak aims to unlock i20 N’s full potential

Tänak is back with Hyundai Motorsport this season having spent last year driving for British-based M-Sport Ford. The Korean manufacturer squad’s i20 N Rally1 has undergone a host of technical upgrades since Tänak previously drove for the team in 2022.

Co-driven by Martin Järveoja, Tänak finished a respectable fourth overall at the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo. Despite challenges, like sliding into an icy ditch and a mysterious throttle issue, Tänak sees the car's competitiveness.

“I would say the car is definitely not bad,” he commented after round one, which was won by team-mate Thierry Neuville. “Obviously it’s very competitive and it has some very strong points. Some things, let’s say, I didn’t know before coming to [Monte-Carlo], and obviously there was a lot more Tarmac here than we had in the test beforehand.

“Without the experience, it’s very difficult to make the right calls, but I would say in the end we were not too wrong as well. The car is behaving well, actually. It’s much more in the window [of performance]. I just need to understand it, how and what it likes.”

Tänak faces a different challenge next week as the WRC heads to Rally Sweden (15 – 18 February) – an event he won last year.

The 36-year-old has had two days of testing prior to the Umeå-based counter, which is the only pure winter rally on the calendar.

“We’ll see how we are,” he mused. “But you know, with these [tests], you only drive on some four-kilometre road and that’s it. When you go to the rally, everything starts to get different.”