Tyre manufacturer DMACK is stepping up its presence in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) after signing speedy Estonian Ott Tänak and entering the DMACK World Rally Team in the race for the 2016 championship title.
In close partnership with M-Sport, DMACK will field a Ford Fiesta RS WRC for 28-year-old Tänak on all 14 rounds of the series, competing against the factory teams of Volkswagen and Hyundai in the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers for the first time.
The move also allows DMACK to challenge at the top level of the sport in direct competition with respected tyre manufacturers Michelin and Pirelli.
Tänak and co-driver Raigo Mõlder are no strangers to DMACK having competed for the firm’s WRC 2 team during 2014, helping them seal the WRC 2 Teams World Championship title. In 2011, Tänak made his world rally car debut with DMACK, finishing sixth overall on Wales Rally GB.
The pair are also familiar with the Fiesta when, after leading Rally Poland for most of the opening day, they scored a podium finish for the M-Sport World Rally Team in July.
Competing for a full season at the highest level of WRC sees DMACK step up its commitment to the championship and is the next phase in the company’s aim to supply a top factory team. In September, tyre technical expert Fiorenzo Brivio joined DMACK from Pirelli as the firm signalled its intention to ramp up both development and performance of its motorsport products.
After a two-day asphalt development session in Spain last month, DMACK and Tänak will take part in a cold-weather test at the start of December in preparation for the season-opening Rallye Monte Carlo in January.
DMACK will be represented across all levels of the WRC next season. The 2015 Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy winner Marius Aasen will take up his prize drive in WRC 2 at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R5 – he will be joined by Estonian Sander Parn in a two-car Drive DMACK team.
And, with the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy recently launched for 2016, aspiring drivers from across the world will be able to experience WRC action in the most affordable way possible – while also battling for the biggest prize in world rallying.
Dick Cormack, DMACK managing director, said: “We’ve been working on this programme for around six months as part of our three-year development plan. I genuinely believe the combination of M-Sport and Ott is the best platform to help us develop our WRC products and push for leading stage-times when the opportunity arises. DMACK has a clear strategy to challenge for the WRC title in the future and the only way to achieve this is to focus hard on product development and undertake a full WRC programme with the correct partners to prove our performance. Today is yet another step towards achieving our goal of competing at the pinnacle of world rallying alongside Michelin and Pirelli, so I’m looking forward to a great season in 2016.”
Ott Tänak said: “I’m very excited to be joining DMACK again and extremely motivated to carry on the hard work and get closer to the top. We have many good memories from 2014, the team is very hard-working and I know things have moved forward even more since then. We had a tough season but the speed was there and, now that we have much more WRC experience, we will only get better in the future. This is a perfect programme for me, a chance to help DMACK progress and an opportunity for me to demonstrate both my and DMACK’s pace. I can’t wait to start the season in Monaco.”
Hea meel, et Ott saab võimaluse 2016 kõik rallid kaasa teha!
Samas usun, et Wilson jälgib Tänaku tegemisi eriti hoolega ja ilmselt kui peaks DMACK-Tänak kooslusest edu tulema on Wilsonil mingid õigused Tänaku tuleviku osas (2017 jne).
Ott Tänak @OttTanak 1m1 minute ago
Really happy to say I will be driving in WRC for @DMACK_Tyres in 2016. I’m very motivated to help DMACK and show my speed. #bringiton
No hea uudis ma usun. Ehk saab pingevabalt lasta 2016. aastal ja hakkavad tulemused ka tulema. Kas see on M-Spordi all auto või Autotek? Loodetavasti M-Spordi all.
Kas siin üldse selline variant pakkumistest läbi käis, et sõidab Dmackiga aga kõik etapid? Räägiti siin vahepeal, et Dmackiga sõidab osadel etappidel ainult ...aga ei..igati lahe uudis ja evelinilves...tegelt kah...kas sa oled selles süsteemis kõvasti sees, et tead asju, või peaksid ikkagi selgeltnägijate tuleproovi minema. Kindel võit oleks garanteeritud...
Selles suhtes on väga meeldiv et kohe aastane kogemus juures. Saab sõita pingevabalt kuna väga kõrget kohta ei oodata pigem ju rehvide poolt tagasisided võistlus olukorras. Lisaks palju rehvideste ehk siis kilomeetreid autos.
After a two-day asphalt development session in Spain last month, DMACK and Tänak will take part in a cold-weather test at the start of December in preparation for the season-opening Rallye Monte Carlo in January.