The race is significant in several ways: It is the inaugural Saudi Arabian rally as well as being the season-ender, with the drivers' title still to be decided, but it is also the last WRC race for Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja.

Tänak announced after the last race in Japan he would be taking a break from top-level competition.

While he was in with a mathematical chance of winning his second WRC title right the way to the penultimate race in Japan, this was always going to be a long shot given the dominance of Toyota, who had already bagged the manufacturers' title at the previous round in Central Europe.

Tänak's fourth in Japan earlier this month meant while he would not top the table, he will finish a solid fourth whatever happens in Saudi Arabia, finishing higher than teammate and reigning world champion Thierry Neuville.

Based in Jeddah in the southwest of the Kingdom, Rally Saudi Arabia's schedule also breaks slightly with tradition, as it runs Wednesday to Saturday, rather than Thursday to Sunday. Wednesday started off with a shakedown run, which Tänak finished fifth in.

The race is on gravel, a surface which Tänak and Järveoja have taken five of their six top three finishes this season on, and Hyundai and the Estonian duo are hoping to end their season on a positive note.

"We're going into a completely unknown zone, so we just have to go there and see what this rally has to offer us," Tänak said ahead of the race. "We're driving the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Evo again, it's done really well on gravel before. We don't know exactly what to expect on the tough gravel in Saudi Arabia, but the team has been strong in these conditions before," he added.

While Tänak is in fourth after four stages, heading into Thursday's lunch break, the Baltic states are well represented as Latvia's Martinš Sesks leads for M-Sport Ford. He is followed by the two men battling for the world title, both of them with Toyota: French veteran and eight-time world champ Sébastien Ogier, and Welshman Elfyn Evans, hungry for his maiden title.

"It's impossible to go flat out from start to finish without running into problems. You have to use your head. There will definitely be moments where we'll need luck," Evans said of the race. "Some sections require saving the car, others pushing, but you also risk rocks suddenly appearing from previous cars. This demands total focus," Tänak's teammate Adrien Fourmaux added.

"We're heading into the complete unknown, so we just have to show up and see what this rally brings," Tänak himself said. "We're driving the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Evo again, which has performed very well on gravel before. We don't know exactly what to expect from the rough Saudi gravel, but the team has been strong in tough conditions like these before."

The tension will remain high come what may: Evans is three points in the table ahead of Ogier, with 272 points, going into the race, while the third place is also held by Toyota, thanks to double world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Finland), technically in with a chance of pipping his teammates to the post at the final hurdle, were they both to drop out of the points.

Four more stages follow on Thursday, starting at a bit before 1.30 p.m. Estonian time.

Friday brings six stages, starting at 7.26 a.m. with the last stage starting at 3.05 p.m. The last day's events start at just after 8 a.m. Saturday, with the last (points) stage starting after noon.

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