Tänak was Toyota’s star driver on the rally’s opening day when his car, and those of team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi, suffered from high engine temperatures.
But while the overheating affected the stage times of Latvala and Lappi, Tänak, on his gravel debut in the Yaris, managed to drive around the problem and end the day only 11 seconds off the rally lead.
“We all had the same issue, I don’t know how the other guys managed it, but I just kept focusing really hard,” Tanak told wrc.com.
“It was difficult. We had to select the [engine’s] safe mode in the slower parts, but in the faster sections, when we had the airflow, it was okay. There was a lot happening on the stages, but still my rhythm was quite good and we got the best out of it.”
Tänak’s charge was halted on Saturday’s first stage when turbo failure forced him out for the day. He restarted on Sunday and went fastest on the rally-ending live TV Power Stage to take home five bonus points.
“The team will investigate the turbo, I’m sure they’ll do everything to ensure it never happens again,” Tänak said.
“Of course I’m not happy with the overall result as we were in contention for the win, but we still have a long season ahead of us and the performance side has been good. It was my first time on gravel in the car, we learned a lot and we can see many places where we can improve.”
“I must say, I am quite happy with the performance already and we know we still have steps to do. It looks good for the future.”
Source: http://www.wrc.com
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