Tanak and team-mates Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen all suffered from a throttle mapping issues on their i20 Ns during the first two stages of the Monte Carlo Rally last Thursday.
While the problem was quickly rectified for Neuville and Mikkelsen, Tanak continued to struggle with the anti-lag system on his i20 N throughout the remainder of the rally.
Tanak was still able to bring the i20 N home in fourth but was 1m59.8s behind eventual winner Neuville.
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Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul admitted he was concerned by the engine dramas his team suffered in Monte Carlo, but also believed Tanak’s driving style contributed to the 2019 world champion’s struggles in adapting to the i20 N.
Abiteboul said the team will work on delivering a car much more tailored Tanak’s style for the next round of the championship in Sweden from 15-18 February.
“Of course I am concerned by the engine issues because it means that we need to improve our validation process because this should not happen at this level of championship,” Abiteboul told Autosport/Motorsport.com.
Source: Autosport