The Hyundai driver held a slender 0.2-second advantage over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans during a drama-filled Friday in New Zealand, but has been dropped to second place due to a five-second penalty for exceeding the maximum hybrid boost permitted under the WRC rules.
According to the WRC stewards’ document, Tanak used a 241.03kJ and 242.02kJ boost on the first stage, when only a 240kJ was permitted. The Estonian driver had won the opening stage by 0.9s from M-Sport’s Craig Breen.
