There was great expectation amongst his Estonian compatriots, many of whom crossed the Baltic Sea to watch their hero in the flesh…and they were not disappointed. He dominated the 320 kilometres’ rally from start to finish, accruing a finishing lead of 32,7 seconds over Mads Ostberg.

After an all-out fight with Ostberg during Friday’s race, Tänak only managed any meaningful distance from his competitors on Saturday, and since, the Estonian kept everyone out of reach.

Talking after his Victory, and elated Tänak declared: “It was a perfect weekend. The first day was tough but after that, we increased our gap. The preparation was perfect, everything was as it needed to be”. Regarding his slim chances of winning the WRC against favourites Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier, he said: “I will try to win every rally and let’s see where we are at the end of the year”.

But…What was of the two title favourites?

The Toyota Gazoo Racing team came close to seizing a 1-2 finish but Ostberg was determined to grab the second place. Ostberg put on an spirited performance on the track and fended off all of Toyota’s Jari-Matti Latvala’s attempts to challenge his position.

Photo: WRC