Ott Tanak won Rally Argentina in front of Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo.
#RallyArgentina
?@OttTanak
?@thierryneuville
?@DaniSordo https://t.co/OoDFZVYbJy#WRC pic.twitter.com/DVSSH3O2Bh— Michelin Motorsport (@Michelin_Sport) April 29, 2018
A dominant Ott Tanak scored his third WRC victory, and his first for Toyota Gazoo Racing, on Sunday afternoon at YPF Rally Argentina
After dictating the opening two legs, he eased through the classic El Condor and Giulio Cesare speed tests. Managing the gap, the Estonian won this fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 37.7sec.
He won 10 of the next 12 tests to storm into a comfortable lead. That left his demoralised rivals fighting over the remaining podium places. It was his first win since August last year in Germany as well as Toyota’s first success since last July in Finland.
“It’s a special one. We never knew what was going to happen with the team change but it’s nice to see how quickly we’re improving,” said Tänak, who joined the Japanese manufacturer at the start of the year.
“The car is near enough to my liking and it’s a massive boost for a driver if you have the confidence. I can’t say it was easy, I was pushing really hard and living on the edge on Friday and Saturday.”
Second for Neuville enhanced his title hopes
He narrowed the gap to championship leader Sébastien Ogier to 10 points. The maximum five bonus points for winning the final Power Stage in his Hyundai i20 helped.
Team-mate Dani Sordo finished a further 38.0sec behind in third. The Spaniard maintained his recent good form which has delivered two podiums from the last three events.
Ogier lacked the pace to improve on his record of three wins from the opening four rounds in a Ford Fiesta. The Frenchman held off a determined final day charge from Andreas Mikkelsen to claim fourth.
Norwegian Mikkelsen felt more comfortable with the handling of his i20 and fell 4.0sec short of overhauling Ogier.
Elfyn Evans completed the top six in another Fiesta. But he rarely found the pace which brought him within 0.7sec of victory 12 months ago.
The championship heads back across the Atlantic to Europe for round six. The gravel road Vodafone Rally de Portugal is based in Matosinhos on 17 – 20 May.
Drivers standings after #RallyArgentina
?@SebOgier 100 pts
?@thierryneuville 90 ts
?@OttTanak 72 pts#WRC pic.twitter.com/y0fQKBLMG6— Michelin Motorsport (@Michelin_Sport) April 29, 2018
