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TANAK EDGES CLOSER TO WRC TITLE

Ott Tanak edges closer to WRC title - Photo: Red Bull

By Bruce Williams

Ott Tanak edges closer to WRC title - Photo: Red Bull

Ott Tanak edges closer to WRC title – Photo: Red Bull

Toyota’s Ott Tanak has edged closer to claiming his first World Rally Championship title by winning Wales Rally GB.

The Estonian took his fifth victory from the last seven rounds as well as maximum points for the event by winning the Wolf Power Stage to move 28 points clear of rival Sebastien Ogier (Citreon) who finished the rally in third.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who the only other driver in title contention and sits 13 points further behind Ogier, also finished on the podium claiming second for the rally.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Tanak, however. A difficult run on the opening Super Special Stage at Olton Park Raceway saw him lose over 8 seconds, and sit 13th in the rally standings at the end of the first stage before taking to muddy roads of the Welsh forests. It wasn’t until Saturday’s running that he’d moved his way up to the lead of the rally, building a buffer over his rivals.

Thierry Neuville remains in title contention after finishing second - Photo: Red Bull

Thierry Neuville remains in title contention after finishing second – Photo: Red Bull

Tanak faired much better than his Toyota teammate Jari-Matti Latvala on the slippery roads. The Finn was the first major casualty crashing out in spectacular fashion while running fifth.

The third Toyota of Kris Meeke, in his home event, led the rally at the end of the opening day before dropping down the order to finish fourth, 35 seconds behind the leader. Fellow local Elfyn Evans (M-Sport Ford) claimed fifth on his return to WRC competition after sitting out the last three rounds through injury.

Kalle Rovanpera secured the WRC 2 Pro title by finishing ninth outright in his a Skoda Fabia. While 2003 WRC Champion Petter Solberg made a cameo appearance and won the WRC 2 class (10th outright) in an emotional final rally before retirement.

The World Rally Championship will head to Spain later this month for the penultimate round before heading to Coffs Harbour for the final event of the year, Rally Australia.

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