Tanak wants a World Rally Car future

Ott Tanak hopes his debut in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC on Wales Rally GB won’t be a one-off.

The 24-year-old, who has a long-term contract with the Blue Oval’s rallying partner M-Sport, finished sixth overall on the world championship closer, scoring one top-three stage time in the process.

He told Wr.com: “For sure I would like to drive this type of car next year but we need to work on it, we will see. I have a good feeling at the moment and it can only get better. But my manager has to work on this [deal], I am just the driver.”

Tanak could have challenged for a podium finish in Wales had he not lost several minutes sliding into a bank on Saturday morning while adjusting a pace note, which caused his car to overheat. He also lost more ground in the afternoon with an oil pressure problem on his DMACK-equipped Fiesta.

“For sure we got some really good experience from here and it was good learning for us,” said Tanak. “We could have fought for a podium because before our problems we were close to Henning [Solberg] who finished third. But I wasn’t here to fight for position. I just came here to drive I through and get to the finish. That was the most important thing and that is what we did.”