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Tänak unsure of WRC future

Estonian is waiting to hear about 2016 seat

By Franck Drui

30 October 2015 - 10:10

Ott Tänak has admitted his future in the WRC hangs in the balance – but the Estonian doesn’t think he could have done any more to convince onlookers he’s worthy of another full season in the series.

The M-Sport World Rally Team driver has scored some mixed results this season and currently lies 10th in the WRC driver standings.

His best result in 2015 was third place in Poland, but his most recent outing at RallyRACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada ended in disappointment last weekend when he crashed out on SS11. He had been as high as third overall after Friday’s running on mainly gravel roads.

With only next month’s Wales Rally GB still to run this season, Tänak told wrc.com he is still waiting to finalise his plans for 2016. He said: “I don’t know anything about 2016. We still have Wales to go and we just have to do our best over there. Then we will see if we get a seat for next year or not.”

The M-Sport squad remains tight-lipped about which drivers will take the wheel of its Ford Fiesta RS WRCs in 2016. In the absence of a high-profile title sponsor, one of the team’s options is to stick with Tänak and Evans. However, if extra commercial revenue is secured, it could afford to employ drivers with a stronger WRC track record.

But Tänak is philosophical about his current situation. Although he lies 18 points behind team-mate Elfyn Evans in the current WRC points standings and has failed to score any points on four events this season, Tänak doesn’t think he could have done any more to influence M-Sport’s recruitment decision for next season.

He said: “Whatever comes, we know we have done our best. Our best is where it is. That’s our place at the moment.”

The 2015 season marks Tänak’s second season with the M-Sport World Rally Team. He first drove for the team in 2012 but was dropped at the end of that campaign after some disappointing performances. He was brought back into the fold at the start of this year after spending 2013 and 2014 accumulating more experience and improving his focus.