Tartu (Estonia) (AFP)
Making the most of the advantage of riding on his land to recover in the World Championship: Estonian Ott Tänak (Hyundai) executed the first part of the plan on Saturday before Rally Estonia, 4th round of the WRC.
The regional of the stage took control during the third special of the event, the second in the morning, to count at the end of the day 11 sec 7/10 ahead of his Irish teammate Craig Breen, 2nd, and 28 sec 7/10 over Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), 3rd.
Not surprising given that he won three times in 2014, 2018 and 2019 in the event, raced at a lower level since 2010.
"I attacked during a few stages to create the gap but, this afternoon, some SS were so brittle that I knew I shouldn't take any risks, says Tänak. If I want to fight in the championship, he must come to the end. "
To win at the end of the last six specials (out of 17) remaining to go on Sunday around Tartu, in the east of the country, the Estonian will have to keep this philosophy, his teammate Breen, who does not play in the championship but "the podium" and a starting place next year, not being a threat.
If the reigning champion is worried about defending his chances in the drivers' standings, it is because he made a blank copy during the first round, the Rallye Monte-Carlo, after an impressive accident.
His two second places since only position him 5th in the championship, 24 lengths behind leader Ogier.
However, with only four events (Estonia included) remaining on the calendar following the coronavirus pandemic, both time and points are running out ...
- Neuville out of the race -
At the top of the standings with eight lengths ahead of his British teammate Elfyn Evans, 5th at 36 sec 8/10 on Saturday night, and twenty units better than the Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), out of the race after having broken one of his wheels at the start of the afternoon, Ogier was in a favorable position.
He will still have to contain the assaults of his teammates on Sunday, the Finnish Kalle Rovanperä pointing at 6 sec 2/10 from him and Evans at 8 sec 1/10.
And, as always in rallying, keep the luck on your side after two alerts on Saturday, in the form of damaged wheels.
As for Neuville, he will make his return, as provided for in the regulations, in an attempt to limit the damage by taking a few points in the Power Stage, 17th and final special, final stretch of the 232.64 km timed on the weekend menu. .
Finally, note the provisional 9th place of another Frenchman, Pierre-Louis Loubet, who is making his elite debut, after winning the WRC2 title, the lower category, last year.
Rally Estonia was due to enter the WRC calendar in 2021, after a promotional event in 2019, but the pandemic and the need to find new destinations precipitated this entry.
This round of resumption after six months of forced stoppage, disputed over two full days instead of three in normal times, is done in compliance with a strict health protocol, of course, but especially in the presence of the public.
As the race was contested on the road, it was unimaginable to ban spectators.
These are controlled by means of "passes" giving them access to certain areas and each route is limited to 1000 people.
© 2020 AFP