As the day progressed, Tänak gradually found a better rhythm, and by the end of Friday he trailed Toyota’s surprise leader Oliver Solberg by 12.4 seconds.
Tänak wasn’t fully satisfied with his day early on, but by the end of Friday, things had taken a slightly more positive turn.
“Let’s say it’s very demanding, and it was hard to get into a rhythm,” Tänak said as he reflected on his day.
“But this afternoon, surprisingly, I actually felt a little better than this morning. Somehow the balance improved a bit, and it was starting to be a little bit enjoyable,” he added.
Tänak also openly acknowledged that one driver stood out on Friday. Both he and his teammate Thierry Neuville were forced to give way, but the fight is far from over.
“Oliver has done a decent job today, him and also Thierry (Neuville) have done a good job today, so I’m sure there is still a lot of pushing and fighting to be done tomorrow,” Tänak predicted.
But the most joyful and touching moment of the day came at the finish of the final stage on Friday. There, Tänak’s son Ron stepped up to conduct the post-stage interview. The young boy asked his father if the job was done and whether they could now go swimming. Tänak promised they would – and even praised his son’s journalistic skills.
“I was quite shocked, to be honest,” Tänak laughed.
“I thought at first he was just pushing the car, but he was actually asking for interviews – and I must say, I was positively surprised that he could pull it off.,” he smiled.
Tänak also celebrated the moment with his son on his own social media channels.
“Proud dad moment! The best stage end question of the day, that’s for sure! Tubli olid, Ron!,” Tänak beamed.
You can watch the heart-warming video of Tänak and his son’s moment below.
