Ott Tänak fastest for Hyundai in Monte Carlo opening test run

Estonian rally start Ott Tänak put in the fastest time in the pre-race test run in Monte Carlo, the opening stage of the 2024 World Rally Championship (WRC) season.
Tänak has rejoined Hyundai for this season.
Three test runs were held, the first two of which were mandatory for all drivers, under WRC rules.
With a time of 2.00.5, Tänak was ahead of second place driver Elfyn Evans (Toyota) by 0.1 seconds, and +0.8 ahead of his teammate at Hyundai Thierry Neuville, after the first run.
Tänak's second outing went even faster, at 2.04.7, and since the remaining drivers did not improve on their initial times, the Estonian remained in first place.
This was repeated in the third and final run, which is also optional: Tänak improved again, to 2.04.2, yet Evans was slightly slower than in his first lap, at 2.05.2.
The opening shakedown taste of the race weekend starts Thursday evening, and the event continues through to Sunday.
Ott Tänak and his co-driver Martin Järveoja rejoined Hyundai at the end of the 2023 season after a season with M-Sport Ford, in which they won two races. The pair were last world champions, with Toyota, in 2019.

2024 WRC season calendar
Rally Estonia is absent from the 2024 WRC season, though its July slot is being filled by the TET Rally Latvia. The rest of the season calendar is below.

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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Anders Nõmm