Hänninen: Monte woe has made me stronger

Defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Juho Hänninen says his failure to win Rallye Monte-Carlo last month will make him a better driver.

The Škoda Motorsport ace was leading by almost one minute when he got caught out by running intermediate tyres on two snow-hit stages and dropped almost five minutes. He eventually finished sixth overall alongside co-driver Mikko Markkula.

“I said to myself: ‘Okay, this is the Monte Carlo Rally, this can happen. You have the tyres that you have and you have to drive.’ I am happy that I didn’t make a mistake and that I could bring the car to the finish. Mentally, I was stronger on this event. Maybe, two years ago I would have been off the road, but I think I was stronger this time.”

Hänninen’s five IRC victories to date have been on gravel-based events. But the Finn said his pace on dry Tarmac during Rallye Monte-Carlo has given him a big boost.

“The positive thing for me is the speed on the first half of the rally,” he said. “I was very confident in the dry Tarmac, which is what made this a good event for me. If I had been not so good in the first half of the rally and then having these problems, then it would not have been good. Something happened with my head, I realised what I have to do with the car on Tarmac and the confidence is much, much better.”