2019 World Rally Champion · WRC

Ott Tänak

The first Estonian to win the World Rally Championship, and the first driver from outside France to take the title in sixteen years. The official Tänak collection: the year without a drive, the six-win season, and the cliff at Monte Carlo.

Nationality: Estonian
Born: 15 October 1987 · Kärla, Saaremaa
Teams: M-Sport Ford · DMACK · Toyota · Hyundai
Championships: 1 (2019)
WRC starts: 176
Co-driver: Martin Järveoja (2017–2025)

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Graphic illustration of WRC driver Ott Tänak wearing his Hyundai Shell Mobis racing suit, featuring his number 8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 race car

2019 World Rally Champion

2009 — 2025

World Championship

WRC Victories

Podium Finishes

438

Stage Wins

Who is Ott Tänak?

Ott Tänak (born 15 October 1987) is an Estonian rally driver who won the 2019 World Rally Championship with Toyota, the first Estonian to take the title. He won 22 world rallies and 58 podiums from 176 starts, driving for M-Sport Ford, DMACK, Toyota and Hyundai, and stepped away from full-time rallying at the end of 2025.

Full name: Ott Tänak
Nationality: Estonian
WRC career: 2009–2025
Best known for: The first Estonian World Rally Champion, in 2019

By Kozmozracing Editorial Published 3 September 2026 Updated 3 September 2026 9 sources

Rider Profile

Ott Tänak: Full Biography

Ott Tänak is an Estonian rally driver who won the World Rally Championship in 2019 with Toyota. He was the first Estonian to take the title, the first driver from outside France to win it since Petter Solberg in 2003, and Toyota’s first drivers’ champion since Didier Auriol in 1994.

Saaremaa He grew up on the island of Saaremaa and won the Estonian Rally Championship in 2008 and 2009 for a team run by the former world rally winner Markko Märtin. A win in the Pirelli Star Driver shootout bought him a part-season in the World Rally Championship’s production category in 2010, where he won the class in Finland and Britain.

The Gap His progress was not linear. M-Sport had no seat for him in 2013 and he spent the year out of the championship, running his own team at Estonian national rallies. He returned through DMACK, a tyre manufacturer’s privateer entry, took two podiums in 2016, and won his first world rally at Rally Italia Sardegna in 2017.

Champion, Then Hyundai Two seasons with Toyota brought four wins in 2018 and six in 2019, the second of them enough for the championship. He moved to Hyundai for 2020, survived one of the biggest accidents in the sport’s modern history at the Monte Carlo Rally, and won the first WRC running of Rally Estonia. He stepped away from full-time rallying at the end of 2025 with 22 wins and 58 podiums from 176 starts.

Career Highlights

2008 — Wins the Estonian Rally Championship for a team run by Markko Märtin, and again the following year
2009 — Makes his WRC debut on Rally de Portugal, then wins the European Pirelli Star Driver shootout
2010 — Wins the production category on Rally Finland and Rally GB
2013 — Left without a WRC seat, he runs his own team at Estonian national rallies and wins the N4 class
2016 — Two podiums and eighth in the championship for the privateer DMACK team
2017 — A first world rally win at Rally Italia Sardegna, and a second in Germany
2019 — World Rally Champion with six victories, the first Estonian to win the title
2020 — Wins the first WRC running of Rally Estonia, his home event

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Ott Tänak

Chapter 01

The Year Without a Drive

He came from Saaremaa, an island off the Estonian coast, and won the national championship in 2008 and 2009 driving for a team run by Markko Märtin, the first Estonian to win a world rally. A debut on Rally de Portugal in 2009 brought twentieth place; later that year he won the European Pirelli Star Driver shootout in Austria, which paid for six rounds of the following season in the production category, and he won the class in Finland and Britain. A first world championship podium followed at Rally Italia Sardegna in 2012. Then M-Sport had no seat for him in 2013 and he was out of the championship altogether. He went home, set up and ran his own team at Estonian national rallies in a Subaru Impreza, and won the N4 class. The route back was DMACK, a tyre manufacturer running its own privateer Fiesta, with which he took two podiums in 2016.

Mitsubishi Lancer · Rally Finland shakedown, 2010 Photo: Ott Tänak and Kuldar Sikk, Mitsubishi Lancer, Rally Finland shakedown (2010) by kallerna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized) · licence

Chapter 02

First Estonian

M-Sport brought him back for 2017 alongside Sébastien Ogier, and at Rally Italia Sardegna he inherited the lead after a mistake by Hayden Paddon and held off a final-day charge from Jari-Matti Latvala for his first world rally win. He won Rallye Deutschland later that year, the first time Ford or M-Sport had won there since the event joined the championship in 2002, and finished third overall. Toyota signed him for 2018 and he won four rallies, three of them consecutively in Finland, Germany and Turkey. In 2019 he won in Sweden to lead the standings for the first time in his career, won the first running of Rally Chile, and took six rallies in all, sealing the championship at Rally Catalunya after a power steering failure for Ogier and a Power Stage win of his own.

Ott Tänak's Toyota Yaris WRC, car 8, head-on out of a dust cloud on the Panzerplatte stage at Rallye Deutschland in 2018, straw debris caught in the front bumper after clipping a bale.

Toyota Yaris WRC · Panzerplatte, Rallye Deutschland, 2018 Photo: Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, Toyota Yaris WRC, Panzerplatte, Rallye Deutschland (2018) by Robrob42 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence

Chapter 03

Off the Cliff, and Out on His Own Terms

He signed for Hyundai in October 2019 and kept car number 8 rather than take the number 1 reserved for the champion. The title defence began with the i20 bottoming out on a bump on the fourth stage of the Monte Carlo Rally, leaving the road over a forty-metre drop at 180 km/h and rolling end over end through trees before landing on the road below; both he and Martin Järveoja walked away uninjured. Later that year he won the first WRC running of Rally Estonia, his home event and his first victory for the team. Five more Hyundai seasons and one at M-Sport followed, along with a runner-up championship in 2022 behind Kalle Rovanperä and a third place in 2024 with the title mathematically alive into the final round. His last win came at the Acropolis Rally in 2025, the gearbox failing on the closing stage as he held on. He announced at Rally Japan that he was stepping away from full-time rallying — a break, as he put it, rather than a retirement.

Ott Tänak's Hyundai i20 N Rally1, car 8, on the gravel of the Ouninpohja stage at Rally Finland in 2025, passing a packed spectator bank of camper vans and flags, his and Martin Järveoja's names on the side window.

Hyundai i20 N Rally1 · Ouninpohja, Rally Finland, 2025 Photo: Ott Tänak, Hyundai i20 N Rally1, Ouninpohja, Rally Finland (2025) by Antti Leppänen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence

Career Timeline

Ott Tänak Career Timeline: 1987–Present

1987

Born on Saaremaa

Ott Tänak is born on 15 October in Kärla, on the island of Saaremaa, then part of the Soviet Union.

2008

Estonian Champion

Wins the Estonian Rally Championship for a team run by Markko Märtin, and retains it the following year.

2009

WRC Debut

Twentieth on Rally de Portugal, then wins the European Pirelli Star Driver shootout in Austria.

2010

Production Class Wins

Takes the production category on Rally Finland and Rally GB.

2012

First Podium

Second at Rally Italia Sardegna, his first world championship podium.

2013

No Seat

Out of the championship, he runs his own team at Estonian national rallies and wins the N4 class.

2016

DMACK

Two podiums and eighth overall for a tyre manufacturer's privateer team.

2017

First Win

Wins Rally Italia Sardegna, then Rallye Deutschland, and finishes third in the championship.

2018

Toyota

Four wins, three of them in a row, and third overall again.

2019

World Champion

Six victories and the title, sealed at Rally Catalunya.

2020

Monte Carlo, Then Estonia

Survives a forty-metre crash in Monaco, then wins the first WRC Rally Estonia for Hyundai.

2022

Runner-Up

Three wins and second in the championship behind Kalle Rovanperä.

2025

Stepping Away

A final win at the Acropolis Rally and an indefinite break from the World Rally Championship.

By the Numbers

Ott Tänak WRC Record, Season by Season

Ott Tänak season-by-season record: team, wins, stage wins, podiums, points and final standing.
Season	Team	Wins	Stage Wins	Podiums	Points	Pos.
2009	Private · MM Motorsport	0	0	0	0	–
2010	Pirelli Star Driver	0	0	0	0	–
2011	M-Sport	0	0	0	15	15
2012	M-Sport	0	8	1	52	8
2014	M-Sport · DMACK	0	1	0	17	15
2015	M-Sport	0	11	1	63	10
2016	DMACK	0	30	2	88	8
2017	M-Sport Ford	2	30	7	191	3
2018	Toyota	4	70	6	181	3
2019	Toyota	6	73	9	263	1
2020	Hyundai	1	12	4	105	3
2021	Hyundai	1	49	4	128	5
2022	Hyundai	3	41	8	205	2
2023	M-Sport Ford	2	30	4	174	4
2024	Hyundai	2	29	6	200	3
2025	Hyundai	1	54	6	216	4

The championship season is highlighted. Career totals: 22 wins · 58 podiums · 1,898 points from 176 world championship starts. Wins, podiums and points all sum to those totals. There is no 2013 row because he had no world championship drive that year. Points are not comparable across the table, as the scoring system and the number of rounds both changed over his career. The stage-win column sums to 438; the Wikipedia infobox and the article's own total row both state 440, and the juwra.com database records 441. Figures verified 3 September 2026.

Ott Tänak in his own words

In His Own Words

I didn't want to retire like Sebastien did and do a big show and then come back next year. I guess life will show if we will continue or not.

Ott Tänak · on stepping away from the World Rally Championship, November 2025

Ott Tänak: Frequently Asked Questions

How many World Rally Championships has Ott Tänak won?

One, in 2019, driving for Toyota. He was the first Estonian to win the drivers' title, the first driver from outside France to win it since Petter Solberg in 2003, and the first Toyota driver to win it since Didier Auriol in 1994.

How many rallies has Ott Tänak won?

Twenty-two world championship rallies from 176 starts, along with 58 podium finishes and 1,898 points. That win total puts him eighth on the all-time list. His first came at Rally Italia Sardegna in 2017 and his last at the Acropolis Rally in 2025.

Which teams did Ott Tänak drive for?

Four. M-Sport Ford across several spells between 2011 and 2023, the privateer DMACK team in 2014 and 2016, Toyota in 2018 and 2019, and Hyundai from 2020, with a single season back at M-Sport in 2023.

Is Ott Tänak still competing?

He stepped away from full-time rallying at the end of the 2025 season to spend more time with his family, and described the decision as a break rather than a retirement. He has said he does not intend to cut ties with rallying and that his plans remain open.

Who was Ott Tänak's co-driver?

Martin Järveoja, alongside him from 2017 to 2025 and in the seat for all twenty-two of his world rally wins. Kristo Kraag, Kuldar Sikk and Raigo Mõlder sat there earlier in his career.

What happened to Ott Tänak at the 2020 Monte Carlo Rally?

His Hyundai bottomed out on a bump on the fourth stage, left the road over a forty-metre drop at 180 km/h and rolled end over end through trees before landing on the road below. Both he and Martin Järveoja walked away uninjured.

Why was Ott Tänak not in the World Rally Championship in 2013?

M-Sport had no seat for him. He spent the season in Estonia, setting up and running his own team at national rallies in a Subaru Impreza, and won the N4 class before returning to the championship the following year.

Did Ott Tänak ever win his home rally?

Yes. Rally Estonia joined the World Rally Championship calendar in 2020 and he won its first running, leading almost throughout — his first victory for Hyundai, in his own country.

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

Ott Tänak — WRC career statistics · juwra.com rally database
Ott's WRC starts, event by event · juwra.com rally database
Ott Tanak opens up on decision to leave WRC · Motorsport.com
Tänak chose to leave WRC in the summer · DirtFish
Three drivers to take over Ott Tänak's Hyundai WRC seat in 2026 · ERR, Estonian Public Broadcasting
Ott Tänak · Wikipedia
2020 Monte Carlo Rally · Wikipedia
Rally Estonia · Wikipedia
Ott Tänak (Q1068686) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by Kozmozracing. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

Last reviewed 3 September 2026.

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