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Ott Tanak Reflects on Rally Japan Crash: A Setback for Hyundai

Ott Tanak has shared his thoughts on a crash that he characterized as a “proper disaster,” an incident that not only led to his retirement from the Rally Japan but also enabled teammate Thierry Neuville to clinch the World Rally Championship (WRC) title, affecting Hyundai’s aspirations for the manufacturers’ championship.

Heading into Sunday, Tanak held a substantial lead of 38 seconds over Elfyn Evans of Toyota, positioning him strongly for a potential victory. However, his plans unraveled dramatically during stage 17.

The stakes were high for Tanak; a win in Japan was essential for him to maintain faint hopes of a championship title, while also aiding Hyundai in their pursuit to overtake Toyota in the manufacturers’ standings. In this scenario, if Tanak secured the victory, Neuville needed to earn at least two points from the final day’s five stages to secure the drivers’ championship.

Tragedy struck when Tanak encountered a particularly slippery corner during stage 17 (Nukata). This stretch of road was notorious, as it had also claimed the control of former Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen, who faced a severe crash at the same corner.

“It is a proper disaster; there are no other words, it is difficult to describe,” a visibly upset Tanak remarked following his incident. He elaborated, saying, “Somehow I didn’t expect slippery conditions in this corner, and when we hit it, the front washed out and went too far off the road to recover.”

Discussing the implications of his crash on Hyundai’s championship campaign, Tanak did not hold back: “To be honest, it is a complete f*** up, and it shouldn’t have happened.”

Despite the setback for Tanak, he acknowledged Neuville’s successful season, noting, “It is a great season for him for sure—a very consistent and well-managed performance.”

As the rally progressed, Evans extended his lead to 1 minute and 32.2 seconds ahead of teammate Sébastien Ogier, with M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux sitting in third place.

Interestingly, while the rally appeared to be slipping away from Hyundai in the overall standings, they maintained a lead on Super Sunday, with Neuville narrowly ahead of teammate Andreas Mikkelsen by just 1.3 seconds. Ogier followed, 8.4 seconds behind, with Evans positioned fourth, trailing by 10.1 seconds.

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