Ott Tänak targets first Monte Carlo win as 2025 WRC season kicks off

Rally driver Ott Tänak and his co-driver Martin Järveoja are aiming for their first-ever Monte Carlo Rally victory next week, as the race marks the return of the WRC calendar and the 2025 season.
Tänak was in with a shot of a second world championship last year for Hyundai, missing out in the season-closing Rally Japan in November and finishing 42 points and two places behind overall winner and teammate Thierry Neuville (Belgium).
For Neuville, this was the end of many years of playing the perennial WRC bridesmaid for Hyundai; Welshman Elfyn Evans finished second in the table, 10 points ahead of Tänak.
Looking ahead to Monaco, the Estonian said: "Monte is always a tough rally. We've managed to get on to the podium there, but we've never been strong enough to win."
"This year's [stages] feature several new sections, so once again, it's difficult to know what to expect. Monte Carlo is always quite unpredictable, which makes preparation very challenging," a Hyundai spokesperson for Tänak told ERR.
"The main factor is the weather; we need to be ready for anything. Tire choices will also play a critical role. It's a unique rally with a long history, and if I could win it, I would value that very highly. That's always the goal, and let's just say that trophy would go to a special place," he went on.
The freshly-crowned Neuville has won the Monte Carlo Rally twice before and so is eyeing a third victory as he starts the defense of his 2024 title.
The Monte Carlo Rally begins with a shakedown outing on Wednesday, January 22, followed by the first stages proper on Thursday, January 23, ending three days later on Sunday, January 26.
The remainder of the WRC calendar looks like this:
- 23–26 January: Round 1 - Rallye Monte-Carlo
- 13–16 February: Round 2 - Rally Sweden
- 20–23 March: Round 3 - Safari Rally Kenya
- 24–27 April: Round 4 - Rally Islas Canarias
- 15–18 May: Round 5 - Vodafone Rally de Portugal
- 5–8 June: Round 6 - Rally Italia Sardegna
- 26–29 June: Round 7 - EKO Acropolis Rally Greece
- 17–20 July: Round 8 - Delfi Rally Estonia
- 31 July–3 August: Round 9 - Secto Rally Finland
- 28–31 August: Round 10 - Rally del Paraguay
- 11–14 September: Round 11 - Rally Chile Bio Bío
- 16–19 October: Round 12 - Central European Rally
- 6–9 November: Round 13 - FORUM8 Rally Japan
Rally Islas Canarias, Rally del Paraguay, and Rally Saudi Arabia are new additions to the WRC season.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Maarja Värv