Tanak ends M-Sport’s WRC victory drought
Ott Tanak took victory ahead of Hyundai’s Craig Breen at Rally Sweden, ending M-Sport’s nearly 13-month dry spell in the World Rally Championship.
The Estonian delivered a measured and flawless drive to endure a tense neck-and-neck battle with Hyundai’s Craig Breen that dominated most of the weekend.
In his second event with the M-Sport Ford Puma after switching from Hyundai, Tanak claimed an 18.7 second win ahead of Breen. Hyundai used team orders ahead of the final stage, getting Breen to check in late to put him behind his full-time teammate Neuville, but a mistake by the latter on the final stage dashed those plans.
Tanak managed just one stage win in the 18 Tests over four days of competition, but his consistent speed proved crucial in surviving a tense battle with Breen and claiming his first win since the Ypres Rally Belgium last August. M-Sport’s last WRC win came to Monte Carlo last year thanks to Sebastien Loeb.
Tanak started the rally strongly, finishing Thursday’s opening stage just 1.6 seconds behind Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera. But the 2019 world champion stormed into the lead of the rally as crews returned to the service park on Friday morning.
Breen, returning to the WRC in his first event of a part-season, soon emerged as Tanak’s closest rival. It was the Irishman who shone on Friday afternoon as the new Hyundai signing took the lead from the Estonian, which he took into Saturday’s stages.
Breen’s bid for a memorable first WRC win increased, his lead over Tanak increasing to 5.7 seconds before the M-Sport driver hit back on Saturday afternoon.
Craig Breen excelled in his first WRC outing of 2023 but lost touch with Tanak after that moment on Saturday
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
A lucky escape from a snowdrift on stage 12 and a tire delamination on stage 13 followed by a loss of hybrid performance handicapped Breen and allowed Tanak, who luckily survived a puncture on stage 15, to retake the lead.
Tanak then finished Sunday’s three stages coolly to take the win and earn two bonus Power Stage points. Former M-Sport rider Breen was unable to catch Tanak on final testing and a 10 second penalty for checking in a minute late for the final stage.
Neuville won five stages but was involved in a battle with Rovanpera for the final spot on the podium on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday he made the most of his fresh tires to pull away before any team orders were given.
A mistake on the final stage almost cost him, but he managed to finish third, 20.0 seconds back.
Rovanpera found it difficult to open the roads as he lost his lead on Thursday night and dropped to fifth but was able to fight back on Saturday. The Finn got into a battle for the final podium place with Neuville after Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi spun in a snowdrift on Saturday’s stage 13.
Lappi had been third from Friday to this point before his rally fell apart when his right front tire delaminated, contributing to his spin at the final corner of the stage. Lappi was stranded in the snowdrift for seven minutes, which put Rovanpera and Neuville on the podium. Rovanpera was also lucky to come out of a wild high-speed spin in the same stage.
Oliver Solberg dominated WRC2 and finished seventh overall
Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images
At one point on Saturday night, Neuville and Rovanpera shared third place before Neuville went 3.8 seconds clear. Rovanpera caught up briefly on Sunday before Neuville finally claimed the podium.
Following Hyundai’s team orders, Rovanpera secured fourth place, collecting just three power stage points.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans finished the rally in a distant fifth place after struggling for confidence behind the wheel of his GR Yaris. The Welshman was also fortunate to survive clashes with snow banks on Saturday.
M-Sport’s Pierre-Louis Loubet, racing in top-of-the-line machines for the first time in Sweden, finished sixth after hybrid problems and a brief stoppage on the final stage, while Lappi recovered to finish seventh and win the Power Stage.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta disappeared from the rally entirely. The Japanese was forced to withdraw from Friday’s action due to a leaking radiator caused by a wild roll on Stage 5.
The roll happened while Katsuta, making his first start for the factory team, was fifth after winning stage four. He was then pulled out of the action ahead of Sunday’s final stage with an engine problem.
Local hero Oliver Solberg finished seventh overall after dominating the WRC2 class to start his championship campaign with a 42.3 second win over Ole Christian Veiby.