Tänak went off the road and was forced to retire from the rally while leading. The incident secured his teammate Thierry Neuville the drivers’ world championship. At the same time, Tänak lost 18 potential championship points from the event, giving Toyota a genuine chance to challenge Hyundai for the manufacturers’ title.
The drama didn’t end with Tänak’s crash, as Heikki Kovalainen also went off the road at the same spot, colliding with Tänak’s Hyundai and parking his Toyota on top of it. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident.
Naturally, Tänak was deeply disappointed after his crash.
“Proper disaster, you know. No other words. To be honest, the feelings are difficult to describe,” Tänak said briefly.
The Estonian had been dominating the rally until his retirement. On Sunday, Hyundai’s drivers were tasked with ensuring the manufacturers’ title rather than solely fighting for the drivers’ championship, which was already heavily in Neuville’s favour.
“I didn’t expect any slippy conditions in this corner. Somehow, immediately when we hit the corner, the front washed out. Obviously the car was too far off the road to recover,” Tänak explained.
“To be honest it’s a complete fuck up. It should have never happened there.”
Tänak offered fair recognition of Neuville’s superior performance.
“A great season for him for sure. Very consistent and very well managed.”
