Tanak wins, boosts bid for world title

OTT Tanak won the Wales Rally GB on Sunday to move a step closer to his first World Rally Championship title.

Tanak, 31, has won five of the last seven rounds and he completed his latest success in Wales with maximum bonus points from the final Wolf Power Stage. The Estonian will secure the title if he wins the penultimate round in Spain later this month.

Tanak’s 10.9-second success was far from easy as he fended off title rivals Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier in treacherous conditions.

They kept the pressure on Tanak after he claimed the lead from teammate Kris Meeke late on Friday, but he held his nerve to secure a crucial success.

Neuville, without a win since April, emerged as the closest challenger in his Hyundai i20.

But in a rally where the time gaps were small despite the tricky conditions, the Belgian could not make inroads in Sunday’s closing speed tests near the race base in Llandudno. Ogier completed the podium in a Citroen C3, a further 12.9 seconds back.