Ott Tanak is set to make a maiden appearance in the American Rally Association National Championship with an outing at Overmountain Rally Tennessee later this month.
The 2019 world rally champion and fellow title winning co-driver Martin Jarveoja will pilot a factory-backed Toyota GR Corolla Rally RC2 car at the gravel rally on 18-19 September, alongside ARA regulars Seth Quintero and Topi Luhtinen.
The ARA debut marks Tanak’s latest outing with Toyota having taken up a test and development driver role with the manufacturer this year after opting to leave the Hyundai WRC team at the end of 2025.
The Estonian has undertaken significant work developing Toyota’s all-new 2027 WRC car ahead of the championship's big shift in technical regulations next year. Last month, Toyota deployed Tanak at Rally di Roma Capitale in Italy, where he drove non-competitively in the 0-B car to gather data ahead of the event’s likely inclusion in the WRC next year.
Gathering data is the key reason for Tanak’s outing at Overmountain Rally Tennessee, given the region is part of a bid to bring the WRC back to the USA in 2027.
“Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja will take part in the ARA National Championship round at Overmountain Rally Tennessee on September 18-19, driving the second GR Corolla Rally RC2 alongside Seth Quintero and Topi Luhtinen,” read a statement from Toyota.
“The Estonian crew’s participation forms part of their ongoing testing work, helping the team gather valuable knowledge of the local gravel roads in a region under consideration for a future WRC event in the United States.”
Tanak’s ARA outing comes just months after Toyota WRC team principal Jari-Matti Latvala jumped behind the wheel of a GR Corolla Rally RC2 car for the Olympus Rally round of the ARA in April, where the Finn took victory.
Tanak, who made a return to the WRC service park at Rally Finland earlier this month, has remained coy on his future, refusing to rule out a return to the WRC competition next year with Toyota.
“Obviously, there is a big change coming in the championship [with new technical regulations], so I try to help as much as possible with the team. This season is very busy for all the current drivers and they [Toyota] are using me as the guy doing a job in the background,” said Tanak in Finland.
“I must say I'm quite happy where I am at the moment. There is no pressure, but still plenty of driving. I’m working with good people and preparing something from the blank page. For sure there is no question that Toyota's technical team is very strong. To develop something from scratch, it's always fun with the people there at Toyota.
“I wouldn't say too much at the moment [about next year]. I’m quite happy where I am, so let's see.”
