Ott Tanak can stake World claim, says his leading Northern Ireland engineer Jamie McMillan
The Estonian kept his cool in extreme conditions at the 'Rally of the Gods' to finish with a 32.8-second lead over the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 of eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier, despite his i20 N Rally1 being struck down with transmission problems right at the death.
The result has significantly boosted his title credentials and moves him to within 12 points of Elfyn Evans and three adrift of Ogier who has only signed up for a partial programme.
Crucial to the result was the work of Tanak's mechanics during service halts, with these operations orchestrated by the 37-year-old's top engineer — Ballyclare's Jamie McMillan.
McMillan feels the manner of the Acropolis performance fuels Tanak's victory hopes going to his home fixture next week.
'For Ott to win in Greece in the fashion he did, in such a positive way, and swing the odds a little bit back in our favour in the World Rally Championship fight is really great,' he said.
'It is definitely nice to get a victory for the team because it has been a long and super busy first six months and, ultimately, having a victory to celebrate in Greece is a big boost.
'The morale is an improvement on where it has been, and our attention has already turned to Estonia.
'We are trying to get the car in as good a window as possible for his home event.'
He added: 'Ott is fast and usually competitive in Estonia, although the high-speed gravel roads are going to be a challenge with the updated 'Evo' car and we are going to have to work hard to pull the package together, to make it work, if we want him to fight for the victory there.
'If we can, then we have Estonia to look forward to and then Finland where the roads are similar.'
McMillan hopes Tanak's run of bad luck in the first half of the campaign is now at an end and those who feed into the No.8 car can pull out all the stops to keep him in the title fight until the final round in November.
'We are not in too bad a position now and hopefully we can take advantage of Seb's absence in Estonia and take some good points and close the gap on Elfyn,' he added.
'If we do that, then the rest of the season should be really interesting — especially as Ott's pace has just always been there.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
New Hearts transfer target to boost a key area
SPFL Premiership begins against Aberdeen on 4 August Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Hearts' summer transfer business will not end with the capture of Burkina Faso internationalist Pierre Landry Kabore. The Edinburgh News can reveal that head coach Derek McInnes still wants at least one more signing before the window closes on 1 September. Kabore's move from the Estonian club JK Narva Trans should be finalised in a matter of days - potentially before the weekend - which would make him the eighth new recruit at Tynecastle Park. Norwegian right-back Christian Borchgrevink, Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis, Portuguese forward Claudio Braga, Irish midfielder Oisin McEntee, Belgian striker Elton Kabangu, Scottish centre-back Stuart Findlay and Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota are already in situ. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad McInnes covets an alternative type of central midfielder to add to his already-sizeable squad after Kabore. He is keen to recruit more energy for the middle of the pitch, where McEntee, Beni Baningime, Cammy Devlin and Calem Nieuwenhof are already in competition. McInnes was reluctant to divulge details but confirmed his plan when asked. 'Still looking to bring in a different type of midfielder,' he stated. Hearts will move players on to reduce the size of their first-team squad over the next month, with midfielder Aidan Denholm set to leave. Livingston are favourites for his signature and there is also interest from Motherwell and Ross County. Others will follow, with forward Musa Drammeh among those struggling to make an impact on the new-look team at Tynecastle. Kerjota completed his £120,000 transfer from Italian side Sambenedettese on Tuesday and made his debut in Wednesday's 4-0 win against Dumbarton in the Premier Sports Cup. The Albanian offers speed and good ball delivery from both open and set-plays - something McInnes prioritises. 'It is important,' explained the head coach. 'One of my old managers once said: 'When you're putting a squad together, try and get two lefties and two righties that can put in good set-plays. We've probably got three now on our left side with Sabah, Stephen [Kingsley] and Harry [Milne]. We work hard on that side of it. It's important that we have the confidence in set-plays that we believe we can score. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad EPL opponents before Scottish Premiership kick-off 'Sabah's deliveries are another bow to his armoury, really. He's a ball carrier, he creates things, he gets people on the back foot, he forces defenders back towards their own goal and he can go both ways. You saw his set-play deliveries the other night and we should have scored from one of them. Kizi scored a good goal and he's got that delivery as well from the other side, so I do think when you're putting a squad together that having as many set-play takers in there is important.' Hearts face English Premier League newcomers Sunderland at Tynecastle on Saturday in Craig Gordon's testimonial. They will then play a closed-door friendly next week to fine-tune preparations for the opening Premiership game against Aberdeen on Monday, 4 August. READ MORE: Six Hearts players battling injury and illness
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Marcus Rashford's first words as a Barcelona player as club reveal squad number
Marcus Rashford says he is 'eager to get going' at Barcelona and already feels at 'home' after joining the club on a season-long loan from Manchester United. Barca brought weeks of speculation to an end this evening as it was officially confirmed that Rashford had put pen to paper on a 12-month deal at the Camp Nou. The temporary agreement includes an option for Barca to sign Rashford outright at the end of the 2025/26 campaign for a fee in the region of £30million. Taking over over the No.14 shirt, Rashford becomes only the second Englishman to play for Barca in the past 100 years, following in the footsteps of the great Gary Lineker. Rashford trained for the first time with Hansi Flick's squad earlier on Tuesday and is set to travel with his new team-mates on the club's pre–season tour of Asia on Thursday. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. The England international, a product of United's academy, will hope to pick up where he left off after enjoying an impressive loan spell with Aston Villa last season, in which he racked up four goals and six assists in 17 appearances. 'I'm very excited,' Rashford told Barcelona's media team upon his arrival in Catalonia. 'I think it is a club where dreams come true. They win big prizes and what the club stands for really means a lot to me as well. 'It feels like I'm at home and this is a big factor in my choice to come here. 'For me, it's a family club, people are comfortable here and it's a good place for good players to showcase their skills.' Asked what fans should expect from him over the coming months, Rashford replied: 'I always try to make decisive actions, fast, dynamic plays, and I always like good football. 'I've always been a fan of watching Barcelona play from a young age, like most football fans. 'It's going to be a joy for me to play here and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.' Rashford is raring to get started in Barca's colours and hopes to be able to add a new dimension to Flick's squad, which finished last season with three pieces of silverware. 'I'm full of excitement and just hunger to go out and try to help this team win,' he added. 'They won so much last year and I can see the ambition of the club is to do better than last year. 'For a player, that's what you want to hear because it keeps you improving year on year and that's what you need to be the best version of yourself. 'I'm eager to get going, get the games playing, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.' Barca head coach Flick held several private conversations with Rashford before a deal was agreed, which proved a 'key factor' in convincing the winger to join. 'He's another key factor and reason I'm here. The conversations that I had with him were very positive,' Rashford explained. 'What he did last year, it was a terrific season. But not just last year, in his career he has proven that he's one of the top coaches. 'To lead such a young team to a very successful season and then to come back to pre-season and want to do more… it showed me everything that I thought I knew about the club. 'Now to be here, it's everything that I wished and thought so I'm, eager to get going and keep learning the Barcelona way as I go.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Gary Lineker makes Marcus Rashford prediction after Man Utd forward joins Barcelona MORE: Jose Mourinho dismisses Chelsea win at Club World Cup MORE: Chelsea drop asking price by £22m for Manchester United to sign Christopher Nkunku
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Chelsea's £90m transfer spending blocks Xavi Simons from dream shirt numbers
Xavi Simons could have his wish of joining a Premier League team granted by Chelsea, although they can't offer him the perfect welcome gift due to their prior summer spending Xavi Simons will have to rethink his shirt number if he joins Chelsea as his favourites have been taken up. Almost a decade after the Blues first showed interest in the Dutchman when he was just 12 years old, they have reignited their pursuit. According to Stamford Bridge chiefs are currently in discussions with his representatives about a possible move. Enzo Maresca's been focusing on reshaping his forward line this summer. The interest in the Dutchman comes a matter of weeks after Noni Madueke joined Arsenal in a deal worth around £52million. However, if Chelsea manage to outbid rivals like the Gunners for Simons' services, there is one thing they will not be able to offer him. The RB Leipzig playmaker will have to settle for a different number than he's accustomed to. Throughout his career, Simons has donned the No. 7, No. 9, No. 10 and No. 20 shirts. Unfortunately for him, none of those numbers are currently available at Stamford Bridge. The No. 9 and No. 20 shirts were recently assigned to new forwards Liam Delap and Joao Pedro respectively. They joined from Ipswich Town and Brighton and Hove Albion for a combined £90million, with Pedro costing Chelsea a hefty £60m. Additionally, the No. 7 is currently sported by Pedro Neto, while the No. 10 was given to Cole Palmer ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup. Pedro and Delap, who together contributed four goals and one assist during Chelsea's successful Club World Cup campaign, have been joined by fellow forward Jamie Gittens, as well as Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez, whose deals were already finalised before this summer. Simons and his representatives are believed to have held talks with Chelsea regarding personal terms. The versatile midfielder, who has previously played for Barcelona 's academy and Paris Saint Germain, can operate behind the striker as well as on either wing. According to talkSPORT, the west London club are prepared to shell out £60m to lure him to Stamford Bridge. The Dutch international has been plying his trade at the Red Bull Arena since the summer of 2023, but only made his move to the Bundesliga outfit from PSG permanent in January. He had been on loan the previous 18 months, but Leipzig forked out £43m to secure his services on a full-time basis in January. However, it's understood that the deal also includes potential add-ons amounting to as much as £27m. This figure could be significantly reduced if they manage to offload him. Last season, Simons notched up 11 goals and eight assists in 33 appearances for Leipzig. He has also earned 28 caps for the Netherlands, scoring five goals, including a spectacular effort against England in the Euro 2024 semi-final. In addition to Simons, Chelsea are reportedly eyeing Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho. The Telegraph reports that Blues boss Maresca is keen on signing the Argentinian, who was left out of United's squad for their pre-season tour of the US. At the conclusion of the season, Garnacho openly criticised Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim for excluding him from the starting line-up in the Europa League final loss to Tottenham Hotspur, further fracturing their already damaged relationship.
