The Estonian driver reminded that winning is not the only goal. The new points system in the WRC has diminished the importance of first places. Points must be collected consistently from each race.
“It’s a bit misleading to say that. We are not driving just for this one rally, but for the championship. Points are important in every race. Of course, I like this rally a lot. Hopefully, I can get the car to my liking so that I can push,” Tänak told RallyJournal.com
“Already in the test stage, it was evident that road cleaning has a huge impact. Let’s see where we stand on Friday. The most important thing would be to get a better starting position for the rest of the weekend,” continued the Hyundai driver, who was the fastest in the shakedown.
Although several seasons have seen rallies in Poland before, the last visit by WRC cars was seven years ago. Old notes were of little help.
“We haven’t driven here for a long time, so it feels like a completely new rally. There are some memories of this rally, but the notes had to be made all over again. I didn’t recognize any sections,” Tänak explained.
“Many of the stages are entirely new anyway, ones we have never driven before. There was a lot of work with the notes.”
Rally Poland requires complete trust in the car due to the high speeds. Tänak also emphasized this fact.
“I like the nature of the rally, but at the same time, it’s essential to respect this rally. At such high speeds, everything has to fall into place if you want to do well. It’s by no means easy,” Tänak summed up.
“We have already learned quite a bit about how to drive this car. Now, on the other hand, the nature of the rallies changes significantly, so there might be more learning ahead.”
