Latest news with #Rallying-Tanak
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Rallying-Tanak heading for Hyundai's first win of 2025 in Greece
Rallying-Tanak heading for Hyundai's first win of 2025 in Greece Ott Tanak was heading for Hyundai's first win of the season after ending the penultimate day of the Acropolis Rally with a healthy 43.6-second lead over Toyota's Sebastien Ogier on Saturday. With temperatures soaring in central Greece, the Estonian and co-driver Martin Jarveoja took five stage wins out of six on the rough gravel roads after starting the day only three seconds clear of team mate Adrien Fourmaux. "Generally it was smoother and more consistent, a bit better than expected," said Tanak. "We had a good rhythm, and we maintained (it) all day." Toyota have won all six rounds so far this season and eight-times world champion Ogier the last two. Fourmaux's challenge faded when he hit a rock on the 10th stage and damaged his car's rear suspension, losing more than a minute, before a tyre later came off its rim. The Frenchman dropped to third, two minutes and eight seconds behind Tanak, with Toyota's championship leader Elfyn Evans in fourth but nearly a minute further back. Toyota's double world champion Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta both retired for the day after going off while Hyundai's reigning champion Thierry Neuville had a third puncture of the event and was in fifth place. Sunday features four more stages, with bonus points to be won in the final one. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Rallying-Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures
Rallying-Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures Hyundai's Ott Tanak ended the first full day of the Acropolis Rally with a slender three second lead over teammate Adrien Fourmaux as the Greek heat and rough roads left rivals struggling to keep up. Tanak stayed out of trouble to lead on Friday night despite not winning any of the seven gravel stages in temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius. "At times it was difficult to keep everything in one piece but I think in the end we must be happy that we didn't have any big trouble with the tyres or with the car," said the Estonian. Hyundai's reigning champion and last year's Acropolis winner Thierry Neuville led after stage three but then dropped three minutes after collecting two punctures, before taking the day's final stage to end the day eighth. Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanpera also lost time with tyre problems. Teammate and eight-times world champion Sebastien Ogier was in third place, 16.9 seconds behind Tanak after leading up to stage five, and won two stages to Fourmaux's three. The Frenchman's championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans was fourth and Gregoire Munster fifth for M-Sport Ford. Katsuta and Rovanpera were sixth and seventh. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
