Ott Tanak: From Estonian Rallies to the 2019 World Champion

Ott Tanak is an Estonian rally driver whose career took him from national stages to the top of the World Rally Championship. He won the 2019 title with Toyota after years of races with Ford, and his later seasons with Hyundai brought spectacular stage wins alongside frustrating mechanical failures.

Who is Ott Tanak?

Ott Tanak was born on 15 October 1987 in Estonia, and he has been one of the country's best-known motorsport figures for more than a decade. He finished his full-time career with Hyundai, and his co-driver Martin Jarveoja was alongside him from 2017 until the end of 2025.

Tanak won twenty-two world rallies, which places him eighth on the all-time list. He won the drivers' championship in 2019 and finished runner-up in 2022, when Kalle Rovanpera took the title. He has also been third in the championship four times.

An Estonian who rose from national rallies to the 2019 world title and 22 world rally wins.

How did Tanak start in rallying?

Tanak took two Estonian Rally Championship titles, in 2008 and 2009, driving for a team run by Markko Martin, a former world rally winner. His first WRC start came at the 2009 Rally de Portugal, where he finished 20th overall.

That same year he won a European talent shootout run by Pirelli in Austria. The prize was a programme of six rounds in the 2010 PWRC support category, and he won that category at Rally Finland and Rally GB.

Those results led to a five-year contract with Ford for 2011, when he drove seven rallies in a Fiesta S2000 prepared by MM-Motorsport. Later that year he made his WRC-spec debut at Wales Rally GB with M-Sport Stobart, testing DMACK tyres ahead of their 2012 entry.

How did Tanak's Ford years unfold?

Tanak's time with Ford was marked by strong pace and a series of setbacks. He scored his first WRC points in Mexico in 2011 and collected his first class win in Italy. A third place in Finland kept him in the title race, and victories in Germany and France moved him to within three points of the lead before Spain.

In Spain he struck a rock on stage one, which broke the Fiesta's front crossmember and forced him to restart under SupeRally rules. That effectively ended his title chance, and he finished the SWRC championship as runner-up to Juho Hanninen.

In 2012 he became M-Sport Ford's number one driver and took his first stage win on Rally Sweden. Engine failure ended that rally, and a slide off the road in Portugal forced him back to Rally2 rules. His first podium arrived in Italy, the second-last round, with third place, and he ended the season eighth in the standings.

What happened in the quieter seasons of 2013 and 2014?

Tanak left the WRC stage in 2013 and led the OT Racing team in Estonian national rallies. His first event that year was Rally Tallinn, where he finished second in a Subaru Impreza, only 0.4 seconds in front of Alexey Lukyanuk. At the season finale in Saaremaa he built a lead of 15.9 seconds, but Georg Gross caught him on the last stage and won by 2.4 seconds.

He closed out 2013 by taking the N4 class, finishing three points clear of Timmu Korge. The result came despite his step down from the top tier.

In 2014 he joined the DMACK World Rally Team in WRC2 and took part in Sweden, Portugal and Sardinia for M-Sport in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Raigo Molder was his co-driver for much of the year.

The 2016 season, back with DMACK, brought two podium finishes, including second in Wales Rally GB. He was on course for a strong result in Poland before a puncture in the penultimate stage cost him, and he ended the season eighth.

Why did 2017 mark a turning point?

In 2017 Tanak returned to M-Sport and paired up with Martin Jarveoja, who replaced Raigo Molder as co-driver. He took his first WRC event win on Rally Italia Sardegna, where he inherited the lead after Hayden Paddon made a mistake and then held on through a late charge.

He had already shown pace that season with third places in Monte Carlo and Argentina and second in Sweden. A crash on the final day in Poland ended his hopes of back-to-back wins, but he returned to form in Germany with a faultless victory.

That German win was the first by Ford or M-Sport there since the rally joined the WRC in 2002. Tanak finished the season third in the championship, behind teammate Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville.

How did the Toyota move and the 2018 season go?

Ahead of 2018, Tanak agreed a two-year contract with Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, a squad led by four-time world champion Tommi Makinen. Many expected him to need time to adapt, but he was second in Monte Carlo and won in Argentina from the first day.

Tanak then won three consecutive rallies in Finland, Germany and Turkey, which put him within striking distance of the title. Poor results in Great Britain and Spain left him 23 points adrift with one event to go. Toyota did take the constructors' title that year, its first since 1999.

How did Tanak win the 2019 world title?

Tanak won the 2019 title with Toyota, taking six victories in a dominant season. He clinched the drivers' title at Rally Catalunya after Sebastien Ogier suffered an early power steering failure, with a Power Stage win sealing the result. It was his maiden world title.

The season opened with third in Monte Carlo behind Neuville and Ogier. Tanak then won in Sweden, which put him top of the standings for the first time, and kept the lead after a second place in Mexico. He held that position for the rest of the season, which included a debut win on the new Rally Chile.

The title made him Estonia's first drivers' champion and the first non-Frenchman to do so since 2003. It was also the first title for a Toyota driver since Didier Auriol in 1994.

What were the Hyundai years like?

In October 2019 Tanak agreed a two-year contract with Hyundai. He kept number 8 rather than taking number 1, which the reigning champion is entitled to. The move meant a fresh team and a new car for the 2020 season.

The 2020 season began with a major accident in Monte Carlo, when his Hyundai i20 bottomed out on a bump and flew off a 40 metre cliff at 180 km/h, rolling through trees before landing on the road below. He and Jarveoja both walked away uninjured, and he recovered with second place in Sweden behind Elfyn Evans.

The 2021 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC was fast but suffered reliability and damage problems. Tanak won the Arctic Rally Finland with Jarveoja and finished the season fifth in the championship on 128 points.

The new hybrid regulations of 2022 proved difficult for Hyundai. Its i20 N Rally1 was not competitive or reliable in Monte Carlo, but Tanak finished the season second on 205 points. He won the Rally Italia Sardegna with nine stage wins and took his third Rally Finland victory.

How did the 2022 title fight end?

Tanak was in the fight with Kalle Rovanpera until the closing rounds. A puncture cost Rovanpera time in Croatia, and Tanak took the lead there, but the title was decided when Rovanpera won the championship in New Zealand. By then Rovanpera was already well ahead of Tanak.

Tanak was meant to be Hyundai's number one for the title, but in Greece Neuville kept a win rather than handing it over. Rovanpera's lead was too large by the end.

What did the return to M-Sport bring in 2023?

For 2023 Tanak went back to M-Sport and drove a Ford Puma Rally1. He won Rally Sweden with Jarveoja, the first win with the Puma, and he finished second in Croatia in an emotional rally after Craig Breen had died during testing for the event.

Reliability problems then ended his title chances, and Mexico brought an eighth place after a poor Friday. He won Rally Chile, his final victory with M-Sport.

How did Tanak's final seasons unfold?

In October 2023 Hyundai announced that Tanak would return for 2024. He finished second in Portugal, beat Ogier by only 0.2 seconds in Sardinia and won the Central European Rally. A retirement on the final day of Rally Japan handed the championship to Neuville.

The 2025 season started with Hyundai well behind Toyota on car development. Tanak was 52 points behind championship leader Elfyn Evans after four rounds, but he fought back on gravel and finished second in Portugal and Sardinia. In Greece he won in front of Ogier after a gearbox scare.

Engine failures in Chile then forced Hyundai into a planned engine change. The solution avoided a five-minute penalty but meant Tanak could not score manufacturers' points for the rest of the year. At the end of Rally Japan he said he would leave full-time rallying when the 2025 season closed.

What were the main milestones of Tanak's career?