M-Sport Ford WRC’s Ott Tanak took the team’s first WRC victory in 13 months at Rally Sweden on Sunday, the only winter rally event of the season. The Estonian came home ahead of Ireland’s Craig Breen in the Hyundai i20 Coupe after the Waterford native led the rally for most of the event until he suffered a puncture.
Breen dropped to third deliberately to allow his full-time teammate Thierry Neuville however, Neuville dropped down to P3 behind Breen. Speaking following the rally, Tanak said:
t obviously means a lot to me, to come into a new car and deliver to these guys [at M-Sport. “It’s a big effort for them to fight against such big manufacturers.
“I am sure they are getting quite a bit of stress from me, but as long as it’s delivering then we are all winning. It’s great to be part of this team.”
1. O Tänak / M Järveoja EST Ford Puma 2hr 25min 54.5sec
2. C Breen / J Fulton IRL Hyundai i20 N +18.7sec
3. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N +20.0sec
4. K Rovanperä / J Halttunen FIN Toyota GR Yaris +25.1sec
5. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris +1min 24.0sec
6. PL Loubet / N Gilsoul FRA Ford Puma +5min 59.0sec