Top Performer – Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja
No matter what the discipline, the best drivers are those who can conjure a victory while driving cars that are not the fastest. Ott Tanak is most definitely one of those drivers, as he again proved with his run to victory in Sweden.
The M-Sport Ford Puma wasn’t the quickest on the Swedish snow but Tanak was able to coax enough from it to score an 18th career WRC win. The result puts him level in the all-time WRC winners stakes with the late Hannu Mikkola and current Toyota WRC boss Jari-Matti Latvala.
It was a masterclass in maintaining a strong average speed, as the 2019 world champion netted only one stage win from the 18 tests on his way to a first win in his second spell at the Ford squad. This was the latest example of Tanak outperforming his car, following on from a similar showing in Finland last year when he carried his Hyundai to the top step of the podium and denied world champion Kalle Rovanpera on home soil.
Ott Tänak celebrates victory with his customary podium leap
Photo by: M-Sport
Tanak wasn’t overly happy with his Puma throughout the rally, but the Estonian is a perfectionist. His determination to battle for another world title is ever-present, and M-Sport is attempting to meet his demands.
There were elements of fortune in the run to the victory. Nearest rival Craig Breen suffering a lack of hybrid certainly helped swing the battle in his favour, while Tanak was also fortunate to survive a front left puncture on Stage 14. Hyundai’s decision to deploy team orders also cooled off the intense head-to-head before the final stage, allowed the 35-year-old to cruise to a 18.7s win over Breen.
But Tanak’s drive was faultless, reminding the WRC that there will be three teams in the fight for the championship this year.
Craig Breen was back to his very best on his first outing with Hyundai this year
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Honourable mentions: Craig Breen/James Fulton, Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe, Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen and Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson
Last year was effectively a write off for Breen. There were flickers of potential with podiums in Monte Carlo and Sardinia but largely the narrative was a series of confidence-sapping crashes and retirements. But in Sweden we saw a rejuvenated Breen, now driving a partial campaign for Hyundai, produce arguably his best showing in a top-level WRC car in his first outing of the…
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