World Rally champion Ott Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja miraculously walked away from a horrible crash on their Hyundai debut at the 2020 Monte Carlo Rally.
The Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC driven by the Estonian ran out of road at high speed on Friday morning, during the second stage of the day. The car dropped down a ditch and then started rolling several times, cutting down a tree in the process.
It’s the sort of crash you expect the worst for the crew but the Estonian duo exited the car on their own, appearing unharmed. Watching the crash over and over again makes it pretty clear that escaping it was nothing short of a miracle – and a testament to the safety of modern racing cars.
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🇲🇨 Rallye Monte-Carlo 2020
✅ ES4 | St-Clément-sur-Durance – Freissinières 1 (20,68 km)
⚠️ ÉVÉNEMENT
🚩 Grosse sortie de route pour Ott Tänak. L'équipage est OK.#WRC #HMSGOfficial #RallyeMonteCarlo pic.twitter.com/kvWtBXMbuP— Sébatien Loeb & Daniel Elena MLDC (@LoebElenaFans) January 24, 2020
The onboard footage shows the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC running off the road while doing approximately 180 km/h (112 mph) and then reaching standstill in a matter of 3-4 seconds. We can only imagine the brutal deceleration forces Tanak and Jarveoja’s bodies had to withstand.
According to Hyundai, both were taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary medical checks “as is standard procedure following a crash of this nature.”
TÄNAK: 📺 Video clip of @OttTanak’s big off on SS4 of Rallye Monte-Carlo 2020. Crew are OK 🇲🇨 @OfficialWRC | @HMSGOfficial | @fia | #WRCLive | #WRCjp | #WRC | #RallyeMonteCarlo 📹 @T_Tuominenhttps://t.co/LuJXhzkfpr
— Rallying UK 🌐 (@RallyingUK) January 24, 2020
Shortly before the crash, Tanak was placed fourth overall in the 2020 Monte Carlo Rally, running 10.3 seconds behind the leader, his teammate Thierry Neuville.
Ott Tanak competed for Toyota in the Yaris WRC during the 2018 and 2019 seasons but signed a two-year deal with Hyundai in October 2019. The 2020 Monte Carlo Rally was his first event for the factory-backed Korean team.