Can Tänak take the WRC title in Spain?
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Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja could clinch their first FIA World Rally Championship title on next weekend’s Rally Spain (24-27 October), as they head to the only mixed-surface round of the series with a 28 point lead.
But it will be far from easy, as the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT Yaris WRC crew will run first on the road on the opening day’s gravel test and will face fierce competition from title rivals Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Citroën) and Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai).
The rally is based in Salou on the Costa Daurada to the south of Barcelona and consists of one day of medium-speed gravel stages followed by two days on smooth and fast asphalt roads that are often likened to racing circuits. Uniquely, teams convert their cars from gravel to asphalt specification in an extended evening service after Friday’s opening leg, and drivers have to quickly adjust to the change of surface the following morning.
“I’m looking forward to Spain,” says Tänak. “As always, I will aim to do my best, but we need to be smart. We know that it could be tricky for us on the first day, as we’ll be running first on the road on gravel. The weather could change things too: We saw last year that we can easily get rain in Spain at this time of year. But I believe that our performance should be good on both surfaces: We were already fast on this event last year and hopefully that will be the case again this time, and we can get the result we need.”
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja wear Stilo WRC DES Zero 8860 helmets.