Autosportfoto

Sprint master Tänak eyes Argentina

WRC speed king Ott Tänak is confident of transferring his pace-setting performances to YPF Rally Argentina next week (26 - 29 april) following a strong pre-event test.

Tänak has acclimatised quickly to Toyota Gazoo Racing's Yaris World Rally Car in his first season with the team. He has won more special stages than anyone else and is keen to translate that speed into rally victories.

The Estonian has 18 fastest times compared to championship leader Sébastien Ogier's 12, and an encouraging test in Italy leaves him eager to improve on last year's third place in a Ford Fiesta at the gravel road fixture.

"I'm feeling good after our pre-event test in Sardinia. The roads went from wet to dry during the test and the surface can be just as rough there, so I think that we got just the right conditions that we needed for a good test for Argentina," he said.

"I'm pretty happy with the improvements that we were able to make to the car and now I am eager to see how we are going to compare against the others."

Tänak is under no illusions about the challenges of the South American event. Last year's opening morning was brutal, as rock-strewn roads wrecked the hopes of many expected front-runners.

The stages clustered around Santa Rosa de Calamuchita again form the opening of this year's encounter and Tänak knows what could be coming.

"Rally Argentina has always been a tough event. There are some nice smooth and fast stages but also some pretty technical roads, so it's a rally where you get a bit of everything in one weekend.

"It's also really demanding on the cars, as the stages can get pretty rough," he added.

Zdroj: wrc.com