WRC: Tänak ends the Frenchman era 🎥

AN ESTONIAN IS THE FIRST With second place in Spain, Ott Tänak from Estonia in a Toyota Yaris secured the title in the World Rally Championship early. This marks the end of the Frenchman's wave of success. The video shows the highlights of the third and final stage in Spain, which turned out to be the crowning [...]

Editorial - October 28, 2019

The video shows the highlights of the third and final stage in Spain, which turned out to be the crowning glory of the season for Ott Tänak and Toyota Gazoo Racing.

First Loeb, then Neuville
The 13th and penultimate round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Catalonia was dominated by Thierry Neuville in a Hyundai i20 Coupé and Ott Tänak in a Toyota Yaris. At the start of the second stage on Saturday morning, the Belgian took over the top spot in the standings from his teammate Sébastien Loeb. The latter was fastest on gravel on the first day, after which the chassis of the World Rally Cars were changed to asphalt.

Exploit to the world championship title
Neuville hoped that his teammates would keep the Estonian at bay. Having already won six of the previous twelve WRC rounds, Tänak struck again on Sunday.

With a superior best time on the final Power Stage, which scored additional championship points, the Scandinavian edged out Spaniard Dani Sordo from second place by four tenths of a second. Tänak thus closed the bag, while Neuville moved up to second place in the championship after his third win of the season.

Thierry Neuville was the fastest on the asphalt tests in Spain. Hyundai now beckons its first title in the manufacturers' world championship (Photo: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH).

End of French domination
Since 2004, the WRC title has always gone to a Frenchman: first nine times to Sébastien Loeb, then six times to his namesake Ogier. Their predecessor as title winner was the Norwegian Petter Solberg on a Subaru Impreza WRC in 2003.

Ogier also still had a chance of winning the title up to Spain. However, a defective power steering system on his Citroën C3 WRC ruined his chances on the first day. Ogier finished in eighth place.

32-year-old Ott Tänak is the first world champion from Estonia. For the Toyota team led by four-time world champion Tommi Mäkinen since his return with the Yaris WRC, it is the fifth drivers' world championship title after Carlos Sainz (1990 and 1992), Juha Kankkunen (1993) and Didier Auriol (1994). They won their titles on Toyota Celica cars.

Ott Tänak knows to whom he owes his success. Without the qualities of the Toyota Yaris, his successes would not be possible.

Hyundai or Toyota
The prestigious manufacturers' WRC title is still to be decided at the finale in Australia. With 1st (Tänak), 2nd (Sordo) and 4th (Loeb) places, the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, victorious for the fourth time this season, extended its lead in the standings over the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team to 18 points (380 to 362).

Tänak has an unassailable lead among the drivers with 263 points. Between Neuville (227) and the dethroned Ogier (217), the battle for second place in the world championship will continue from November 14 to 17 on the fifth continent.