After eight special stages, the Estonian’s gap to the lead has grown to 41.1 seconds. Tänak complained about the drivability of his car, especially during the morning loop, but found a slightly better pace in the afternoon.
“It was difficult to find any kind of consistency. I was always encountering surprises here and there. It was hard to commit in some places. To commit a bit more and then you have a moment,” Tänak lamented.
“Basically, after the first loop, I tuned it a bit to keep the car more together. We probably lost a bit of balance, but it was more consistent.”
According to Tänak, the car’s setup was so far off that quick fixes were hard to come by.
“Like I said in the morning, the car was a bit inconsistent, and the conditions were changing as well. Let’s say that in some places it was understeering and then it was oversteering, making it very inconsistent. When you force yourself to push a bit more to the limit, you encounter surprises and can lose a lot.”
Saturday’s forecast promises rain for the special stages. The nature of the game becomes even more challenging.
“We need to understand exactly if the rain is coming, when it’s coming, and how bad it’s going to be. Then we’ll know how to adjust the setup,” Tänak considered.
“It will be a new rally. I can’t really remember the last time I drove this car in the wet. So, it will be a new challenge. We need to try to find some data from 2022.”
Behind Tänak, the early-season surprise, Adrien Fourmaux in his Ford, is lurking just 11.6 seconds away. Fourmaux was relatively satisfied with his driving day on Friday, even though he also initially lost his way with the car’s settings.
“This morning, I was struggling a bit with the car and the feeling of the car. I’ve been searching for the right setup throughout the day, but I think I found something good for the last one. It’s a shame that it’s going to rain tomorrow, because then I cannot use it,” Fourmaux stated.
“It’s been a positive day. We have been fighting really hard. I have to realize that ahead of me are two world champions and two guys who have been runners-up in the championship many times. I think we are in a good position. If we can do better, then it’s a really positive point. But if we stay as we are, I think it’s still also really positive.”
