Tänak starts first, for first time!

March 6, 2019 0 Comments

Ott Tänak will run first on the road on the open leg of this weekend’s Rally Mexico, courtesy of him leading the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ for the very first time.

Co-driven by Martin Järveoja, victory in Sweden has given the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT driver a seven point lead in the series over Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) after two rounds.

Rally Mexico is one of the driver’s favourite event – and not just because it is sponsored by Corona beer! They love the challenging gravel roads, the high temperatures and high altitude – the route peaks at 2,737m above sea level, where the air is so thin that it reduces engine power by as much as 20%.

The rally begins with the spectacular Thursday evening stage through the colourful streets and tunnels of Guanajuato. Another street stage runs next to the service park in Leon on Friday and Saturday together with laps of the city's racing circuit. On Sunday the new Mesa Cueta stage features the first half of Friday's El Chocolate test, while a second visit to Las Minas runs as the rally-ending Power Stage.

“It was a great feeling for us to win in Sweden, but we quickly changed our focus to Mexico,” says Tänak.

“We flew straight to Spain for two days of gravel testing on the Monday and Tuesday after the rally. We worked on a number of different things, just trying to be as well prepared as we can be. The whole team has been working hard and I believe we should be competitive in Mexico.

“As championship leaders, we will have to run first on the road on the Friday. It won't be easy but we saw in Mexico last year that it is possible to have a good result from this position, so let's see how it goes.”

“After our brilliant win in Sweden, the team is feeling very confident that we can also have a good rally in Mexico,” adds Team Principal Tommi Mäkinen.

“It is always a tough event for the teams because of the altitude and the high temperatures, but over the past year we have done a lot of work to make our car more reliable in these conditions, while also improving the performance. We have worked very hard with the cooling package in particular. Our pre-event testing in Spain last week went well and we're feeling ready.”

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja wear Stilo WRC DES Zero 8860 helmets.