What was behind Tanak’s Saturday Monte Carlo blitz?

Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul believes Ott Tänak’s victory on Saturday afternoon at the opening round of the new World Rally Championship season was down to a combination of his approach and a “deep look” at the right tire strategy.

Sébastien Ogier leads Toyota team-mate elfyn evans Gaining 20.3 seconds heading into Sunday’s race, Tanak was 6.7 seconds back in fourth, increasing his reckoning for a podium in Monte Carlo by leading every stage in the afternoon loop.

This performance came on the back of a Friday that saw Tanak rip the rear bodywork off his Hyundai to ensure he remained in the hunt.

Asked what the team had done to Tanak’s car after Saturday morning’s loop, Abiteboul told Autosport that the pace was more down to changes in speed and tire choice as the drivers got used to the new Hankook compounds. She goes.

“I don’t think we’ve done anything to the car. He’s not going to like what I’m going to say but what we’ve done and what he’s done is take a deep dive within himself and his approach to the rally weekend. The form is there,” Abiteboul said.

“It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but the fact that he is now taking the time to build the set-up, the confidence and understanding to know when to attack and when to lose a little and when to back Gotta go and play the long game.

“We’ve assessed last year as we always do and seen where we missed out on some mistakes as a team and with the third car, but we also know there were some opportunities where OTT probably Some opportunities have been lost and this is positive. See a change of attitude and communication. This is all positive.

“I think his time in the middle stage was a combination of a different approach and the right tire call. It shows he’s a driver who wants to go big to get a big (reward).”

The fight for rally victory is “still on”

Ogier’s lead puts him in a commanding position as he searches for a record-extending 10th Monte Carlo victory, but with Evans still in the hunt with Tänak in third and Adrien Fourmaux – on his Hyundai debut – Abitebola has emphasized the race for overall respect. Is possible.

But warning a win should not jeopardize championship efforts, he explained: “It (the battle) is still on, but let’s not mistake the goal.

“The first goal is to finish this rally with a minimum of two cars in good condition and have maximum points from Monte Carlo. Let’s not try to win this rally at any cost, that would be wrong at this point in the championship.”

Ogier agreed that the rally was far from seamless, telling Autosport: “The battle is still on, but I think we managed the day quite well.

“We managed to increase the lead a bit, the gap went in a good direction. I take it as a positive day. It’s challenging conditions starting with the Rally 1 cars, the road was not in our favor But we managed to stay out of trouble.

“Three stages to go tomorrow and they’re challenging, so let’s see. It won’t be easy until the end.”

Team-mate Evans said: “It’s all quite wide open. Seb is obviously hard to beat if everything goes to plan.

“He’s going to be hard to beat, no question. But the guys around us are only a few seconds behind, so it doesn’t really matter in this rally.”