Bad luck strikes Ott Tänak as engine issue forces him to surrender Rally Chile lead
Ott Tänak had to pull out of Rally Chile during Friday's final stage, due to engine problems with the Hyundai i20.
Up to that point, he had been leading the race.
He and co-driver Martin Järveoja will be able to re-enter the race on Saturday, however.
Rally Chile is round 11 of the 2025 WRC championship and the second of a South American double-header, following the inaugural WRC Rally Paraguay earlier this month.
Tänak got off to a good start in the initial shakedown run in Chile, where the race is based in and around the city of Concepción, winning that stage. However, both he and other drivers noted this was not an ideal predictor of how the race proper would go, with changeable weather conditions likely to play a role too.
From rally lead to retirement #WRC | #RallyChile pic.twitter.com/i7lR4LnsLf
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 12, 2025
Nonetheless, Tänak built himself a solid 9.7s advantage after five stages, including a stage win in the last of these.
Six kilometers into the sixth and final stage of the day, however, the Hyundai's engine packed in, with what Hyundai confirmed to be an engine problem after a reported 3G impact.
"It is hard to digest. Everything was moving in the direction of making a good result, the car worked well for most of the day. There was no sign that anything was wrong. When the first signs appeared, we tried to continue, but in the end, it was no longer possible," Tänak said later via Hyundai's press release.
❌ Disaster for Ott and Martin, they've been forced to stop from the lead on the final stage of the say with a suspected engine issue.#RallyChile #WRC pic.twitter.com/2cL5kgGqaW
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) September 12, 2025
Going into the race, Tänak had been 18 points behind championship leader Elfyn Evans, Toyota's Welshman hunting for his maiden WRC title with four stages in the season to go, including Chile.
Now, Tänak, who has won one race this season but put in a string of podium finishes through the summer to boost his table position, briefly leading at one point, has conceded that the up-and-down season is slowly starting to take its toll.
On Friday, he won his first stage win in Chile just one stage before having to pull out, the 13.34-kilometer Rere stage, and surrender the race lead.
Some comfort could be gained from the fact that the race leader going into Saturday is Tänak's teammate at Hyundai, Adrien Fourmaux, with another Hyundai man, reigning champion Thierry Neuville, just behind him.
"It's a shame for Ott, I'm sorry for him. It's a shame for the team as it would have been nice to be 1-2-3 tonight, but tomorrow is going to be another day," Fourmaux reflected.
Sebastien Ogier is the first Toyota driver, in third place after Friday's stages.
Six stages are to come on Saturday, starting at a little after 3 p.m., Estonian time, bearing in mind the time difference. Four more follow on Sunday, the final day's racing, with the last stage starting at 7:15 p.m. Estonian time.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Maarja Värv
