The pair will be entering as domestic rally series competitors, though Rally Estonia this year is also a round of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC).

Tänak said: "Rally Estonia has been a leader in the new era for many years and has always set an example for the entire series."

"My most positive emotion with Rally Estonia is winning it in its first full WRC year (in 2020 -ed.). Since then, things haven't quite come together for some reason. Hopefully, we can change that in the future and win again," the 2019 world champion went on.

Competing in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, the Tänak-Järveoja duo aims to use the race, which runs July 5-7, as preparation for the WRC rounds in Latvia and Finland.

Tänak also won last weekend's Sardinia rally.

"The first three or four rallies of this season lacked speed and stability. However, the pieces have started to fall into place, and the recent rallies have been more positive. We'll see what the rest of the year brings," Tänak went on.

Also competing in Rally Estonia is WRC2 driver Georg Linnamäe (Toyota), who said: "I think the season started very positively, but the last three rallies haven't gone well, due to some bad luck."

"The pace has been good, and we are continuing to move forward positively. This year, we're aiming for a win at Rally Estonia. Last year, the pace was strong, while the car is also very good this year."

Rally Estonia was a full WRC event from 2020-2023, but Rally Latvia has taken its spot on the calendar for this year. It had in the past been a round of the ERC, up until seven years ago – after a year's hiatus in 2017, the race was a promotional WRC event 2018-2019, as noted becoming a full WRC race the following year.

The ERC season, which runs through summer, kicked off in April with a gravel stage in Hungary and continued with a rally on asphalt on the Canary Islands, in early May.

Ahead of round three in Sweden next week, two different driver-co-driver pairs have claimed victories, while 24 teams have scored points in the overall standings.

Reigning European champions Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, and two-time Rally Estonia winner Mads Østberg and co-driver Patrick Barth are taking part in Rally Estonia, as is local driver Robert Virves, alongside Tänak and Linnamäe.

The race will taken place in and around Tartu, Otepää and other locations in South Estonia, with 14 stages covering a total distance of 187.64 kilometers.

The next WRC round is in Poland at the end of this month.

Ott Tänak is currently in second place in the drivers' table, behind his Hyundai teammate, Thierry Neuville (Belgium).

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