Rallye Monte-Carlo was the first real contact between Ott Tanak and the Ford Puma Rally1 EcoBoost Hybrid. The Estonian driver, who returned to M-Sport after 5 years, finished the event in fifth place overall.
Tanak had already spent a day of testing behind the wheel of the Ford, too little to be able to fully understand the car and what was needed to adapt it to his needs. The Principality event instead gave the former Hyundai Motorsport driver a clearer picture.
The speed of the car seems to be there. What needs to be improved is the balance of the car to help Tanak find the limit and, above all, to find a setup that can make the tires last longer for an entire lap of a stage.
This is the point Tanak focused on after having carried out the first event of his career at the wheel of the Puma Rally1. It will take time, resources and a lot of work. The 35-year-old himself said so, who also said he was confident in view of the continuation of the season and of his car with the Dovenby Hall team.
“In general, the race weekend at Rallye Monte-Carlo was good. We were able to learn a lot and we also did a lot of kilometres. There are certainly things we need to improve, we need to be more consistent and find a little more speed, but I think there are ways to do it.”
“The time obtained in the Power Stage showed that it is possible to be competitive with this car, but we have to find a better way and balance that allows us to drive like this for the entire lap of the stage, because at the moment we are not able to manage the tires and keep them alive for that distance”.
“There are many things we have to do and at the moment we are behind. There is a lot of work to do, but if there is the will, then there will be a way to solve the problems we have”.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener avoided making comparisons with last season’s Rallye Monte-Carlo, which saw the team with Sébastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche win the debut outing of the Ford Puma Rally1 EcoBoost Hybrid.
“I think last year there was the added challenge of someone who hasn’t driven these cars before, and that leveled the playing field,” he told Motorsport.com.
“I don’t think the car is better or less good [dell’anno scorso]. I think there are a few factors: the conditions were more treacherous [l’anno scorso] and this was effectively a tarmac rally. If you’re not 100% comfortable with the car you risk struggling and Ott only had one day and some time.”
From Tanak’s comments it can be seen that the Puma doesn’t need so much power as it needs to be adapted to his riding style in order to be exploited to the fullest. This could also imply major changes to the chassis.
“The good thing is that Ott didn’t talk about power, it’s not that the car has 25 horsepower less, it’s more that he wants to develop it in his own style. We may need to review some aspects of the chassis, but we need to make a debriefing after the event. It’s important not to have an impulsive reaction,” concluded the team principal of the British team.
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