The season has started off rough for the Estonian. In January’s Monte Carlo, Tänak finished fourth, and in Sweden in February, he had to retire, earning only six championship points. Tänak is already 27 points behind his team-mate Thierry Neuville, who leads the series, after two rallies.
”The preparations and testing in Spain were important for us. At the last two rallies we’ve been struggling with the engine mapping,” Tänak explains.
”It was crucial to get to high altitude to help things feel more comfortable for Kenya.”
Tänak admits that while there’s still work to be done on the car’s settings, his performance hasn’t been up to par either.
”Personally, I’ve not managed to get into the groove yet this season and don’t have any strong results. I hope I can change that by keeping things clean and scoring well in this rally. I need to deliver,” Tänak emphasizes.
Safari Rally presents another tough challenge for the Rally1 cars.
”Safari Rally Kenya is a special challenge. To do well you need endurance, especially as the weather can be unpredictable and the roads are very rough, so altogether it is very hard to win there,” Tänak contemplates.
”Of course, with the current Rally1 cars there are places where you can’t be just fast and flat-out, but performance is still key.”
Safari Rally in Kenya will feature a total of 19 special stages, covering nearly 370 kilometers. The rally kicks off with a shakedown on Wednesday.
