A technical issue struck Tänak’s car on Saturday, causing him to drop out of the battle for victory. In the end, he had to settle for fourth place, missing out on a podium finish as well. His teammate Thierry Neuville edged him out by 4.9 seconds.
“Friday was probably not the greatest day, but still we were very much fight for the victory. But basically since Saturday morning let’s say train left the station,” Tänak said.
“We lost a lot of time there and Sunday morning we tried to catch back Thierry at least. But on the second loop the road condition was still cleaning so much.”
Tänak and Hyundai remained tight-lipped about the issue that affected the Estonian’s car. Video footage suggested fluid splashed onto the windscreen from the engine bay. Reportedly, the problem was linked to a leaking coolant reservoir.
However, Tänak admitted that adjustments were made to the car’s engine settings for safety reasons.
“We had to run it a bit down(in terms of power). But yeah that’s the way it was. Obviously I guess when you don’t know what’s happening, you want to make sure you can bring the car home,” Tänak explained.
“Basically I had to drive all day in safe mode through the stages.”
Tänak demanded that the Rally1 car used in Sweden be sent to Alzenau, Germany, for a thorough inspection. There is no doubt that the technical issue cost Tänak valuable championship points.
“I guess to get to the bottom for that the car needs to go back to the factory to really understand.”
