Tänak has returned to the Korean manufacturer Hyundai this year, with his sights set solely on the championship. However, the first three events of the season have brought almost nothing but agony.
In January at Rally Monte Carlo, Tänak was still a respectable fourth, although his pace never matched that of the front runners. In Sweden and Kenya, the Estonian faced retirements. Consequently, after just three events, he is already a substantial 34 points behind the series leader, his teammate Thierry Neuville.
It is clear that the course must change in Croatia.
“We definitely want to do well, so hopefully we get a good feeling from the start. We need a trouble-free event and we are ultimately always fighting for the win,” Tänak summarizes.
The Rally Monte Carlo was once again almost entirely an asphalt rally. Tänak admitted to making mistakes in the car’s setup.
“We have already driven on tarmac in Monte-Carlo and I would say the feeling there was not bad, and by the end of the rally we were getting quite close. We need to take that experience and get the balance right on the car to maximise the grip,” Tänak states.
“If we do that we should have the package we need for Croatia.”
Although the Croatia Rally is extremely challenging and Tänak has yet to win the event, he still enjoys the rally. Tänak has finished second in Croatia in the last two seasons.
“Croatia is a fun tarmac event. The grip is low and the surface can get quite dirty, but at the same time there are a lot of vertical crests and jumps with blind corners. Tarmac is quite rare nowadays on our calendar, we only do a couple of events per year, so it’s special,” Tänak sums up.
