Arctic WRC: Tanak extends lead with double stage wins
Ott Tanak has extended his lead in the Arctic Rally, round two of the World Rally Championship, after claiming two wins out of the three stages on the morning loop in his Hyundai.
The Estonian now holds a 23.6-second advantage over the Toyota of Kalle Rovanpera, who has passed the Hyundai of Craig Breen for second place overall.
Britain’s Elfyn Evans, lying fifth, won the second stage of the day in his Toyota to keep the pressure on the fourth place Hyundai of Thierry Neuville.
Teenage Swedish driver Oliver Solberg holds sixth place in his first-ever appearance at the wheel of a full WRC car, driving a 2020-spec Hyundai and keeping in front of the 2021-spec Toyotas of Takamoto Katsuta and defending champion Sebastien Ogier. The M-Sport Ford Fiestas of Teemu Suninen and Gus Greensmith complete the top 10.
“In the end a good morning, yes, but very, very demanding,” said Tanak. “The stages are incredibly fast and at that speed, never seeing the roads, the pacenotes are never 100% and you always have places where it’s a bit this way or the other way… so far so good!”
In WRC2, the return of former M-Sport driver Esapekka Lappi in a VW has seen the Finn build a 33s advantage over Norwegian championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen’s Skoda, having won all five of the stages run so far.
The battle for WRC3 honours is currently separated by just 3.3s, the advantage with Finnish driver Teemu Asunmaa’s Skoda ahead of Estonia’s Egon Kaur in his VW.
The same loop of three stages will be repeated this afternoon with large sections of snow expected to have been scrubbed away by the passage of the cars to expose underlying gravel.
Successfully balancing the demands of pace and tyre management is therefore expected to be at a premium to reach the end of the day safely.
| Cla | Driver/Codriver | Car | Total Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ott Tanak Martin Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:07'28.000 | ||
| 2 |  Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen | Toyota Yaris WRC | 1:07'51.600 | 23.600 | 23.600 |
| 3 |  Craig Breen Paul Nagle | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:07'56.900 | 28.900 | 5.300 |
| 4 |  Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:08'02.700 | 34.700 | 5.800 |
| 5 |  Elfyn Evans Scott Martin | Toyota Yaris WRC | 1:08'05.300 | 37.300 | 2.600 |
| 6 |  Oliver Solberg Sebastian Marshall | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 1:08'19.300 | 51.300 | 14.000 |
| 7 |  Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt | Toyota Yaris WRC | 1:08'20.400 | 52.400 | 1.100 |
| 8 |  Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia | Toyota Yaris WRC | 1:08'22.200 | 54.200 | 1.800 |
| 9 | Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula | Ford Fiesta WRC | 1:08'38.900 | 1'10.900 | 16.700 |
| 10 | Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson | Ford Fiesta WRC | 1:09'20.100 | 1'52.100 | 41.200 |
| View full results | |||||
Related video
Previous article
Rallying great Hannu Mikkola dies aged 78
Next article
Arctic WRC: Hyundai’s Tanak dominates as Ogier retires
About this article
| Series | WRC |
| Event | Arctic Rally |
| Drivers | Ott Tanak |
| Teams | Hyundai Motorsport |
| 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.
