Points leader says he is ready to take it easy

Points leader Ott Tanak has told MN he will take a measured approach to this week’s Rally Turkey – leaving the risk-all effort to his title rivals Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier.

Tanak arrives in Turkey in a very different position to last season, when he was chasing the championship and started the Marmaris-based rally third in the table, 36 points behind then leader Neuville. This time, it’s the Estonian in the driving seat with a 33-point lead over Neuville.

Tanak said: “We won’t push like mad to win this rally from the start, but I would like to be in that position on Sunday afternoon! Seb [Ogier] and Thierry [Neuville] are the ones who need to take more risks. If you want to win this rally, the most important thing is not to stop. Not stopping for a problem or a puncture in Turkey should guarantee you a good result.”

Tanak’s 2018 Rally Turkey win was based on precisely that tactic. This time he knows he’s going to have to bring more speed and ride his luck.

He added: “Turkey is a tough and difficult challenge – but it’s still a little bit about the speed. You have to play it smart all of the time, but you still need some luck to get you through.

“It’s hard for the tyres. The rhythm in the stage can change quite a lot; you can get a smoother section where you have to push and drive over the top of the rocks and then in some other places you have to come off the throttle and be really careful. It’s not so straightforward as driving Finland.”

Running as low as ninth on the opening day of last year’s Rally Turkey, Tanak admits he expects Fridayto be tricky again this time around. “It [Friday] was roughest day last year,” he said. “I’m not sure it [the performance] got any better on the next days, but it did get a little bit smoother so, yes, in that way it got easier.”