Rally Chile provides the next challenge in the 2024 World Rally Championship season as three events remain.
The course, which is held around the Biobio region in Chile, was first introduced to the WRC calendar in 2019 after the sport approved the rally following a successful candidate event the year prior.
But after its inaugural event, Rally Chile was taken off the calendar due to protests in the nation and the COVID-19 pandemic, and it did not return until the 2023 season.
The two rallies it has held in the WRC have been won by Ott Tanak, with the Estonian claiming victory in its first running on his way to the 2019 world championship.
And previewing the 2024 edition of the event on the WRC YouTube channel, the Estonian is looking to replicate that success.
Ott Tanak eyes more Rally Chile ‘history’ after previous success
After his retirement at Rally Finland with a crash, Tanak was enduring a miserable 2024 season with just one win to his name in Sardinia.
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But after securing third place and his fourth podium of the year at Acropolis Rally Greece, in what was a Hyundai one-two-three finish, the Estonian has thrown himself back into contention.
Tanak leapfrogged Sebastien Ogier by four points to move into second ahead of Rally Chile; a course he knows well with his previous success.
And the 36-year-old is heading into the event with a ‘blank sheet’ as he hopes to make it three victories around the course.
“In life, it’s always the way that what’s in the past it’s in the past and then what’s coming, you never know how it turns out,” he said.
“So, we go there again and it starts from a blank sheet so, you need to create history once again.”
What are Ott Tanak’s chances for the WRC title?
Tanak is 34 points adrift from leading the championship. While it is not impossible, it will prove difficult for the Estonian to catch up with his Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville.
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The Belgian is in fine form heading into Rally Chile, having secured his second win of the season in Greece. Neuville has only finished outside the top five twice all year, securing five podiums in the 10 rallies so far.
It is looking increasingly likely that Neuville will finally claim his maiden WRC title, as Toyota’s disaster in Greece has put them in a challenging position to claim both titles.
Ogier is 38 points back in third, while Toyota have fallen 35 points behind Hyundai in the Manufacturers’ Championship, giving the Korean outfit a great chance of securing both WRC crowns this year.