M-Sport's Tanak pleased with how Croatia Rally preparations are going

With one eye on Croatia Rally, the priority for him at a sodden Rallye des Ardennes in Belgium was about seat time and making the most of it. Pure and simple.

On his first foray to the event - the third round of the Belgian Championship - times on this occasion were of little relevance to him and co-driver Martin Jarveoja.

Instead, getting comfortable in the Puma Rally1 on a Tarmac event, and trying to identify the car’s handling sweet spot on the surface, were the two big priorities.

They had 12 special stages and the best part of 90 competitive miles to tick those boxes and, on reflection, the 2019 World Rally Champion felt it was a worthwhile exercise.

“We did as much as we could. We weren’t competing, so it wasn’t about pushing as hard as we could,” explained Tanak, who is currently second in the World Rally Championship points’ standings to the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 of Sebastien Ogier.

“It was good to be here – it was a good chance to get some extra mileage on Tarmac and to get a good feeling. There was a regular job for the mechanics to do [between each loop], so we were all trying to learn as much as we could,” he continued.

What helped the learning process, no doubt, was the wet conditions that Tanak faced as first car on the road around Dinant – conditions that could potentially be replicated in Croatia in a fortnight’s time.

That was another reason behind Tanak pushing M-Sport Ford to rock up at a national rally last Saturday.

A similar exercise was signed-off by team bosses prior to Rally Sweden back in February and that played a sizeable part in helping them to eventually go on and win it - their first success in the competition since Rallye Monte-Carlo 13 months earlier.

So how hopeful is Tanak of repeating the trick when the World Rally Championship resumes on April 20-23?

“This [rally] can be [representative] – but we will have to wait to see what the weather will be like in Croatia in a couple of weeks,” he said.

“We know it can be a tricky event, one which can bring lots of surprises. The roads and the conditions were tricky here, so this was good experience.

“This is part of the game and it is a long season ahead, so let’s see. There is still a long way to go.”