Tänak: We want to get back on track

Hyundai’s Estonian star was forced out of round three in Africa with broken suspension, but he bounced back strongly with a late push which brought him maximum Super Sunday points plus the bonus four for being second-quickest on the Wolf Power Stage.

Despite that boost, Tänak admitted that he’s still trying to get his 2024 pursuit of a second crown on the right track.

Tänak, who finished eighth in Kenya, said: “Our pace is definitely getting closer to the others. Croatia will be a completely different rally even to [Rallye] Monte-Carlo, so let’s see how we do. We want to get back on track; the championship is very young but we need to get back into our normal rhythm.”

Talking more specifically about his African adventure, he added: “Our target was always not to push to the maximum, but to aim for the podium with a clean run, so our retirement on Friday was of course frustrating. Although we had to face a number of issues in the car and on the road our troubles had nothing to do with reliability.”

Tänak’s round three result moved him up to fourth in the standings, but he remains 34 points adrift his championship-leading team-mate Thierry Neuville.