Late Heartbreak for Tanak and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

Jun 17, 2019 08:56 JST

Source: Toyota Motor Corporation

Rally Italia Sardegna: Day 4

TOKYO, Jun 17, 2019 - (JCN Newswire) - After a very strong performance throughout the weekend, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team driver Ott Tanak was on course for his third straight victory on Rally Italia Sardegna when he was slowed in the very last stage by a steering issue. He ultimately finished in fifth position overall and ahead of his championship rivals on the gruelling gravel event, moving into the lead of the standings.

Car 8 (Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja)

Tanak, his co-driver Martin Jarveoja and the Toyota Yaris WRC had won every stage on Saturday as they moved into the rally lead and built a 25.9-second advantage that they took into Sunday's final four stages. He maintained that advantage through the opening three stages before the steering problem on the rally-ending Power Stage, causing him to lose over two minutes.

Delayed by having to change a wheel on Saturday's final test, Kris Meeke ended the rally in eighth position overall. Jari-Matti Latvala, who restarted yesterday following a retirement on the opening day, finished fourth in the Power Stage. Juho Hanninen, driving a fourth Yaris WRC entered privately by Tommi Makinen Racing, continued to gather useful testing data in the opening three stages before returning to service.

Tommi Makinen (Team Principal)
"Today was one of the hardest moments for our team. Throughout the weekend, the car had shown such great performance and reliability. And then suddenly something happened in the final stage. Of course, we are investigating what caused the problem. It is a big disappointment for everybody, and especially difficult for Ott and Martin. They are leading the championship now but it would have been much better to go into the summer break having won each of the last three rallies. It will be a difficult feeling for the next few days, but I am sure that we can bounce back from this."

Ott Tanak (Driver car 8)
"Very early in the final stage, something very strange happened with the steering and basically it was locked. We were stationary for some time, fighting to get the steering working. Somehow we managed to get going again, but there was a lot of time lost and so was the victory. I'm frustrated, but I also feel very sad for the team. Everybody put so much effort in for this event and in the end to lose it in this way is really a shame. I'm sure that the team will work hard to solve the problem, and we will keep fighting. It's been a tough season so far but the championship situation is much better than it was at the same time last year. Now it's time to have some rest and be away from rallying for a bit, and then it's back to business."

Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 10)
"Today the target for me was to score some points on the Power Stage. I wanted to get into a nice rhythm this morning and keep the speed up. Then, on the third stage, I was just saving the tyres. The Power Stage was always going to be hard with our road position, and I struggled a bit in the ruts, but we had a decent run and we were able to take some points away. Overall it has been a tough weekend for me after the positive start. It's not been the rally that we were hoping for. But we need to look forward and keep fighting."

Kris Meeke (Driver car 5)
"I was quite enjoying it yesterday afternoon: We were improving our rhythm and our speed. Then we had the issue in the final stage, and that meant that we didn't have much to fight for today: We were just focusing on bringing it home to score some points for the team. I knew this would be a tougher event for me, but we can take some positives from yesterday. Now I'm looking forward to Rally Finland and the rest of the year: I know that the team was really strong over the second half of the season and I think everyone's going to give everything from now until the end of the year."

For the latest results please visit www.wrc.com

What's next?
There is a seven-week gap before Rally Finland on August 1-4. The event is the fastest rally on the calendar, run over smooth gravel roads containing many jumps. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, which has its headquarters close to the service park in Jyvaskyla, has won its 'home' rally in both 2017 and 2018.

Contact:

Public Affairs Division
Global Communications Department
Toyota Motor Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3817-9926

Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Sectors: Automotive

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