Arctic WRC: Hyundai’s Tanak dominates as Ogier retires
Day two of the Arctic Rally, the second round of the World Rally Championship, came to a close with Hyundai’s Ott Tanak sitting serenely atop the standings going into the quick-fire final day.
The Estonian’s teammate Thierry Neuville posted an electrifying time on the final stage of the day, 12.3 seconds faster than Tanak, to close within 2s of the Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera, who holds second place overall.
Three stages were run in morning loop and in repeated the afternoon, with a service at the midway point. Tyre wear and preserving the Pirelli studded rubber was the major preoccupation for most teams, with drivers finding that their front end grip fell off a cliff through the course of the day.
Tanak won two stages in the morning and went fastest again on the first stage of the after the service, then settled into a rhythm and protected his tyres while Rovanpera and Neuville battled it out.
“All to plan: the tyres are quite tired so it was important to get here without any mistakes, so it’s all good” said leader Tanak.
Irishman Craig Breen in the third Hyundai holds fourth place but was left frustrated as he fell back from the podium battle by half a minute. Breen remains 10s in front of Elfyn Evans’s Toyota, as the Welshman battled a less-than-favourable road position, as did his teammate and defending champion Sebastien Ogier close behind.
Ogier had suffered worst from sweeping the stages at the front of the field on Friday, which left him continuing to act as sweeper for Saturday’s stages and falling more than a minute behind the leaders. Ogier then went off 50 metres from the end of the final stage and lost so much time that the team has elected to retire the car, allowing his team more time in order to try and maximise his setup for the points-scoring Power Stage on Sunday.
Ogier’s misfortune allowed teenage sensation Oliver Solberg up into sixth place overall in his first appearance at the wheel of a full WRC car for Hyundai. The Toyota of Takamoto Katsuta and the M-Sport Fords of Teemu Suninen and Gus Greensmith round out the top category.
Tenth place overall and top of the WRC2 category falls to Esapekka Lappi’s Volkswagen, with a 50s advantage over the Skoda of Andreas Mikkelsen.
Just one stage remains on the Arctic Rally, the 22.47 km Aittajarvi test, which will be run twice, with the second pass acting as Power Stage with points on offer to the five fastest cars.
| Cla | Driver/Codriver | Car | Total Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ott Tanak Martin Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:43'32.100 | ||
| 2 |  Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen | Toyota Yaris WRC | 1:43'56.200 | 24.100 | 24.100 |
| 3 |  Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:43'58.000 | 25.900 | 1.800 |
| 4 |  Craig Breen Paul Nagle | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:44'25.500 | 53.400 | 27.500 |
| 5 |  Elfyn Evans Scott Martin | Toyota Yaris WRC | 1:44'35.600 | 1'03.500 | 10.100 |
| 6 |  Oliver Solberg Sebastian Marshall | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:44'58.900 | 1'26.800 | 23.300 |
| 7 |  Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt | Toyota Yaris WRC | 1:45'06.500 | 1'34.400 | 7.600 |
| 8 | Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula | Ford Fiesta WRC | 1:45'21.400 | 1'49.300 | 14.900 |
| 9 | Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson | Ford Fiesta WRC | 1:46'33.900 | 3'01.800 | 1'12.500 |
| 10 | Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 1:48'20.900 | 4'48.800 | 1'47.000 |
| View full results | |||||
Previous article
Arctic WRC: Tanak extends lead with double stage wins
Next article
Tanak told to take no “stupid” risks by Hyundai team boss
About this article
| Series | WRC |
| Event | Arctic Rally |
| Drivers | Ott Tanak |
| Author | Nick Garton |
Acropolis Rally Greece Teaser
Arctic Rally Finland: Wolf Power Stage highlights
Arctic Rally Finland: Highlights Stage 9
Arctic Rally Finland: Highlights Stages 6-8
Why WRC's hybrid path could leave it at a crossroads
With all three major manufacturers committing to the World Rally Championship’s hybrid era from 2022, the future of the series is assured for now, but it could lead to trickier twists and turns further down the road
How Tanak froze out the competition at the Arctic Rally
Ott Tanak made up for a disastrous Monte Carlo Rally by leading all the way on the snow-kissed stages of the Arctic Rally Finland and in the process hit back at an event Toyota had been expected to dominate…
What to look out for in the 2021 WRC
As the 2021 World Rally Championship prepares to launch amid tight COVID-19 restrictions in Monte Carlo, here are the eight things unrelated to the pandemic that you should keep an eye on this year
Evans on the talking points of WRC 2021
He came close to the title last year, and now Toyota's Elfyn Evans gives his verdict on what to expect from 2021 as the World Rally Championship prepares to reconvene for the Monte Carlo season opener.
Why Britain's continued WRC absence is a wake-up call
With Rally GB dropping off the World Rally Championship calendar for the second year in a row, one of Britain's best-attended sporting events faces an uncertain future. It's an unfortunate situation that points to troubling times ahead
The Top 10 WRC drivers of 2020
A drastically-shortened 2020 season gave the World Rally Championship protagonists precious little stage mileage to strut their stuff, but as ever the cream rose to the top across the seven events. We rank the year's best performers
The twists and turns of a turbulent 2020 WRC season
The 2020 World Rally Championship bestrode all 12 months of the Gregorian calendar, and in terms of the competition it was a cracker. Moreover, it was an inspiration in dark days for the world and our industry.
The early setbacks that shaped the WRC's greatest driver Loeb
A series of close calls in his formative years threatened to leave rallying's top echelon tantalisingly out of reach for the man who would go on to claim nine WRC titles. In an exclusive interview, Sebastien Loeb recalls the key steps on his road to dominance.
