Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion

M-Sport could have spent the off season licking its wounds after a difficult 2022, but instead it’s gone all in to rejuvenate its World Rally Championship title hopes by luring back one its favourite sons, Ott Tanak.

The news that Tanak will rejoin the Cumbrian squad, 12 years after it gave him his first break in the WRC, instantly added a new dimension to the 2023 title fight. That came after Tanak had dropped the bombshell that he would be leaving Hyundai at the end of last season with a year remaining on his contract.

It means that all three teams boast either world champions or rally winners in their ranks of full-time drivers, a situation the WRC last experienced in 2019, when Tanak won the world title for Toyota. Last season again offered a reminder of the Estonian’s mercurial talent when he emerged as runner-up, and perhaps the only driver able to regularly match and sometimes beat runaway champion Kalle Rovanpera.

Rumours linking Tanak with a return to M-Sport emerged as soon as the cracks in his relationship with Hyundai began to surface, most notably when he didn’t receive the team orders he wished for at the Acropolis Rally in September. The Ford operation appeared the obvious choice given the abundance of talent already housed within the ranks at Toyota.

After a ‘will they, won’t they?’ saga, eventually a deal was done last month. And Tanak’s motive for the move is clear: he wants an opportunity to win the world title again.

“I wouldn’t call it unfinished business as we have already won the championship so the business has been done, but from the other side we have everything we need to challenge for the championship and fight for the title,” declares Tanak. “I would like to give myself the chance to fight for it again. Toyota and Rovanpera, at the moment they are the two to beat and I would say M-Sport is the place to be.

Tanak has returned to M-Sport with the clear goal of challenging for the world title once more

Photo by: M-Sport

“There are people here who are really passionate to do it, so I guess this is the place and it should give me the chance to do it. M-Sport was where I started my career, and I’m not going to say that I will finish my career at M-Sport, but I have been in other places recently and it is interesting to go back.”

For M-Sport, snapping up Tanak was a top priority. Last season began with high hopes after Sebastien Loeb, on the first of his four appearances, gave the Puma a win on its debut on the Monte Carlo Rally, while Craig Breen snatched third and Gus Greensmith finished fifth. But that proved to be a false dawn – only one more podium followed, courtesy of Breen in Sardinia, before a run of high-profile crashes from the team leader and his team-mates Adrien Fourmaux and Greensmith.

The unravelling of what had promised to be an M-Sport return to the top prompted team chief Malcolm Wilson to make changes. Out went Breen, who was just one season into a two-year deal and has moved back to Hyundai, Fourmaux has been placed in M-Sport’s WRC2 programme, while Greensmith has also dropped into WRC2, with Toksport.

"I’m putting all of our effort in trying to get rally wins and to try and get him the drivers’ title. We want to give him the best opportunity and by doing that it gives him more test days, so that’s clearly the target" Malcolm Wilson

“Last year was obviously very difficult for us and difficult for me,” admits Wilson. “It was important for me to do something for all the people here that do such a good job to give them something to be motivated about. I’m delighted that we’ve managed to get Ott and I can’t wait for the season to kick off.”

Wilson says that the key to securing Tanak was a test behind closed doors at M-Sport’s Greystoke proving ground.

“The great thing is that he had the desire as well to come back to us,” he adds. “Obviously I had the desire to get him. It was hard for me as everybody knows he doesn’t come for free, shall we say. The most important thing for me was that he was happy with the car and our plans. The last thing I wanted was for him to come to us and then find that he wasn’t happy with this and that.

“I did exactly the same with Sebastien Ogier back in 2016. It was pointless getting into a relationship if he didn’t have confidence in the car from day one. That was the first hurdle, and once we got over that the main thing that took the time was finding a way to piece the whole thing together.”

A 2022 campaign littered with disappointments prompted M-Sport to make changes

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The objective for 2023 is clear to Wilson. At times in 2022, M-Sport ran as many as five Pumas on WRC events, which stretched the resources of a team that is already dwarfed by those of manufacturer rivals Toyota and Hyundai. This year, the majority of the season will feature just two full-time Pumas, with Pierre-Louis Loubet occupying the other seat alongside Tanak. There is also still hope of a deal with Loeb for selected outings.

“I’ve got to be honest, I’m putting all of our effort in trying to get rally wins and to try and get him [Ott] the drivers’ title,” states Wilson. “We want to give him the best opportunity and by doing that it gives him more test days, so that’s clearly the target. We haven’t got the strength in depth and resource to challenge for the manufacturers’ title, so we are putting everything into going for the drivers’ and event wins.”

While the plan makes sense on paper, it remains to be seen whether M-Sport can provide the machinery to compete with Toyota and Hyundai, both of which have unveiled upgrades to their cars for 2023. But Tanak is already impressed with the Puma following his first proper test outing ahead of this week’s Monte Carlo opener. The 35-year-old says he has been assured that the team won’t be lacking in the development race.

“The team has a great infrastructure and they have strong support from Ford also, so if we all work together and we really want it badly then we can make everything happen,” adds Tanak. “For sure all the other big manufacturer teams when they get their things rolling they can move very fast, and I know from other places that the development rate can be very fast as well. I’m sure we can do it.

“There won’t be any limitation on the development side, so that is the most important thing. They want to prove what they are in this sport so I’m sure it will be an interesting time.”

Wilson, likewise, is unconcerned about the development battle: “I think the great thing is with the way the technical regulations are now, there is very little you can do, and don’t get me wrong – there is always something you can do. But we’ve got this fantastic resource from Ford in the US which we’ll continue to use, so I’m not worried about that.

“I still believe we have an incredible car, and you’ve just got to look at what Loeb did last year. He led almost every rally he did, and no disrespect to Sebastien but he shouldn’t be able to do that at the age he is.

Tanak has Wilson's full backing as he seeks to get back to winning ways

Photo by: M-Sport

“Now Ott has done a bit of time in the car he’s got a better idea of the direction he wants to go. Initially it will be tuning the car to suit him, but obviously the team has a plan as to what they’re looking at to evolve throughout the season.”

Should M-Sport deliver on its development plan, it’s now up to Tanak to rekindle the form that helped him achieve rallying’s ultimate prize in 2019.

“At the beginning of last year, Toyota was quite strong but going into this year everybody has some experience [with these new cars],” he points out. “For myself, it’s going to be a bit more challenging with the new team going to the rallies. I won’t have the experience from last year, but the team has the data and the information so I just need to put it together for myself.”

Can Tanak repay M-Sport's faith and prevail in what is set to be a superb three-way scrap in 2023?

Photo by: M-Sport

Loubet’s full-time chance

A disastrous 2021 left Pierre-Louis Loubet in a hospital bed contemplating an uncertain future in the World Rally Championship, but now he’s set to embark on a “dream-come-true” moment. A whirlwind 12 months has led to the 2019 WRC2 champion being selected by M-Sport as one of its two full-time WRC pilots, alongside likely title contender Ott Tanak.

It has been quite some turnaround following the misery of 2021. The stages were littered with disappointment and accidents in his 2C Competition Hyundai, and then Loubet missed the final two rounds with a broken hip after he was hit by a speeding car while crossing a street in Paris.

M-Sport saw something in Loubet, and handed him a lifeline with a seven-round programme last year. The Frenchman grasped the opportunity with both hands. He scored two career-best fourth-place finishes in Sardinia and Greece, racked up his first three stage wins, and led a WRC round for the first time.

"The full season takes off a lot of pressure because I know that I have 13 events to give me a chance to show all my potential, and gives me the space to grow and learn" Pierre-Louis Loubet

“It’s something that I have been dreaming about since I was a kid,” smiles Loubet. “To do my first full season, and to do the main passion in my life every weekend is something truly fantastic.

“The full season takes off a lot of pressure because I know that I have 13 events to give me a chance to show all my potential, and gives me the space to grow and learn. In 2023, my most important goal will be to finish every event, to gain experience and learn to know where we can push and go for maximum speed.”

M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson believes that Loubet has proven he is now ready for his moment as a fully fledged manufacturer points-scoring driver.

“From my side Pierre-Louis was the most improved driver in the championship last year,” he says. “He’s ready to do the whole championship now, he’s an old head on young shoulders.”

Loubet impressed M-Sport in his partial season last year to earn a full campaign in 2023

Photo by: M-Sport