The Estonian driver, however, has admitted that he is no longer actively pursuing the title, as his teammate Thierry Neuville has a substantial 29-point lead. Moreover, Neuville has displayed such consistency this season that the odds favour him securing his first career title.
Nevertheless, Tänak is ready to attack if Neuville encounters any misfortune in the upcoming rally, which takes place across the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria. His main focus remains on securing the manufacturers’ championship.
“The manufacturers’ championship is in an interesting place, and we are going there with the target of scoring maximum points and putting pressure on our competitors,” Tänak declares.
Last year, Neuville celebrated victory at the Central European Rally, while Tänak finished in third. If Tänak hopes to delay Neuville’s championship celebrations until the season finale in Japan, he’ll need to finish ahead of his teammate in the upcoming rally.
“I personally enjoy the type of roads at Central European Rally the most of all tarmac rallies. Large sections of the roads will be new again this year, which should make it interestingt,” Tänak speculates.
“Last year road position was very important on the first day; because of the wet weather, the road was getting dirty quickly from every car that came through. The weather will certainly play a critical role this year as well.”
The Central European Rally is a unique event in the WRC. With stages across three countries, the road surfaces vary significantly.
“Austria and Germany are very similar to each other with roads in between fields and many junctions, but the Czech roads are usually in the forest with broken tarmac and many cuts. We will only find out during the recce what the roads look like this year.”
The rally kicks off with a shakedown near Prague on Thursday morning. A Super Special stage will follow in Prague in the afternoon, before the first forest stage in Klatovy that evening.
In total, the rally will feature 18 stages, covering just over 300 kilometres.
