Tänak’s Hyundai homecoming: Full focus on Monte

Last season, the Estonian returned to the M-Sport Ford team in the French Alps and, this time around, he’s back in the mountains with Hyundai Motorsport.

Drivers returning to teams is nothing new. Juha Kankkunen, for example, shuttled back and forth from Lancia and Toyota on his way to four world titles.

What’s important for Tänak is that he makes a solid start now he’s back in the blue and orange. Rallye Monte-Carlo hasn’t always been the happiest of hunting grounds for the 2019 title winner. Who could forget the monster crash he suffered while making his debut in an i20 in 2020? Second quickest on Thursday evening’s opener, he flew off the road when the car got out of shape on Friday morning’s second test.

For the three years before that, he’d never been off the podium in the principality. The top step was the only one he hadn’t visited, but the feeling was that it was just a matter of time before champagne celebrations with Prince Albert of Monaco on a Sunday afternoon.

Instead, Tänak’s recent Monte history has been troublesome to say the least. In his three years in a Hyundai, he failed to register a finish and only managed fifth in Ford’s Puma Rally1 Hybrid last year.

There’s no doubting the speed and consistency of the Tänak-Martin Järveoja partnership and both will be very keen to put their recent record to bed as they start their fourth Rallye Monte-Carlo in five years wearing Hyundai overalls.