Rally Acropolis 2025, Day Three Report

The final day then and Ott brought a forty-three second lead over Seb to the final stages of which there was a total of 99km’s over the four remaining tests. Sami, Takamoto, Kalle and Martins all returned to the action with Sami and Marko opening the road. Greg and Louis would sadly not return to the action which was a huge shame and they’d driven a brilliant first two days to hold sixth overall.

First up was SS14 Smokovo 1 – 26.16 km a properly long stage for the final day and Ott picked up where he left off going 1.8 seconds faster than Seb and Thierry. Elfyn was just seven tenths behind with the fourth best time. Takamoto had a spin in the stage on a left hander which was going uphill. This stage featured two water splashes at around 11km’s and 21km’s.

Into the first run of what would be the power stage later, SS15 Tarzan 1 – 23.37 km and Ott again was fastest from Seb and this time Elfyn. Adrien who was eyeing up his and Alex’s first podium since Monte Carlo was taking things carefully setting the sixth best time.

After a service break came SS16 Smokovo 2 – 26.16 km and Seb was fastest from Ott and Adrien. The drama continued for Thierry whose car engine stopped in the stage. After a reset, the car did restart, and he finished the stage. The top positions remained unchanged and just one stage remained between Ott and Martin taking their first win of the year.

We came then to the final stage, SS17 Tarzan 2[Power Stage] – 23.37 km and Thierry set the early pace, before Kalle and Seb came through and set the fastest time. What of Ott though who was last to complete the stage. Well, the early splits showed that he and Martin was not far off the pace of Seb, but then the later splits showed they were losing time. They completed the stage and were sixteen seconds down on the best time with the fifth best time. They were suffering with a gearbox problem which caused the time loss. They were so concerned with the problem that they did not celebrate the win in the usual way and drove into the area beyond the time zone.

Nevertheless, they’d taken victory at last. It is a well-deserved victory for the crew, and unlikely to be the last this season.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Acropolis Rally 

1	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	4:12:20.1
2	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+32.8
3	A. Fourmaux	A. Coria	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+3:09.8
4	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+3:31.1
5	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+8:59.5
6	O. Solberg	E. Edmondson	Toyota GR Yaris	+10:34.7
7	G. Greensmith	J. Andersson	Škoda Fabia RS	+11:28.5
8	Y. Rossel	A. Dunand	Citroën C3	+11:43.7
9	K. Kajetanowicz	M. Szczepaniak	Toyota GR Yaris	+12:56.7
10	A. Cachón	B. Rozada	Toyota GR Yaris	+14:19.9

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“It was a great weekend, but it was also incredibly demanding. The temperatures and the length of the rally were massive obstacles, but we were very happy to put a winning package together, keep the tyres alive and demonstrate our performance. Since Saturday morning we were able to control the pace, I felt good in the car and it was working really well in these conditions. We avoided punctures all weekend by pushing in the sections with minimal risk and holding back in the rougher places, and that was the key. Overall, we are very happy to claim our first win at Acropolis in these conditions.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“This was one of the toughest Acropolis Rallies I’ve ever competed in. Temperatures were really high, and the ground was super abrasive with a lot of loose rocks. We saw a lot of punctures during the rally, but we managed to stay away with minimal tyre damage. I’m pleased to finish on the podium, we were fighting for second but after the issue we had yesterday that fight was over. Securing third was really important to us and we managed to do it, so I’m pleased with the weekend overall.”

Thierry Neuville

“I’m leaving Greece with a solid points haul, but it’s not the weekend I wanted. I had three punctures, and from then on we faced other issues with the car that didn’t help our final efforts today. All in all, we had lots of trouble, but we were able to fix the car for the Power Stage and finish that third fastest. I want to target a podium finish and some big points in Estonia; it’s not my favourite surface, but we’ve performed well there in the past, so let’s see.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“It has been another really strong weekend for us. There was not much we could do about Ott’s pace, also considering the difference in start position, so well done to him on a well-deserved win. Taking 27 points is the maximum I think we could get out of this weekend, so we can be very happy. We have reached the mid-point of the season, and we are still strongly ahead in the manufacturers’ championship. Thanks to the team for pushing very hard all the time and let’s keep going like this in the second half of the season.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a tough weekend with very difficult conditions, but we’ve managed to avoid trouble and finish fourth again – and we also got some Sunday points to top up the tally and soften the blow compared to our rivals. We definitely knew coming into these last three rough gravel rallies opening the road that it would be possible to lose our lead of the championship, so on that side I’m pleased. Now we move onto a different type of rally where we hope to show some more pace and performance.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was a tricky day restarting today. With our starting place we didn’t have much to play for but we had quite OK pace on the Power Stage and at least we could take four points from there, which was probably the maximum we could do. It hasn’t been the best weekend for me, not being on the pace and level where I should be. I know that there is room to improve, and we will work to come back stronger for Estonia.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It was a pity that the Power Stage didn’t work out for us. We chose to focus on it and were pushing a lot, but not in a crazy way: looking at the split times we were fastest overall until we had to stop and change the tyre. It was a frustrating weekend, but we know that this rally can be very tough, and these things can happen; the important thing is to keep my head up and prepare for the next events in Estonia and Finland.”

Sami Pajari

“I had a nice feeling driving again today; thanks to the team for getting us back on the road. It was something really strange and unfamiliar for me to be first on the road and sweeping it clean, but it was also good experience. It’s safe to say it’s not been the weekend we were hoping for but the beginning on Friday was quite strong, so it is good to see the pace is getting there and I’m looking forward to the next events.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“I think it’s been a super demanding weekend for everyone, the team, the car, the crew. It’s nice to know you can get through these kinds of events – we hit a massive hurdle yesterday morning when we clipped the rock, but we managed to fix the car and keep it going.

“Today has been pretty ok, we’ve learnt a lot from a driving perspective and hopefully we can have a good test in Finland and prepare properly for the next two rallies.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“Of course, I think we can find some positives from certain stages, our Power Stage performance wasn’t bad and some of the other stages too. On our first time here we’ve had to be quick learners, and I would say at some points we were quite good. On the points where we weren’t so good, it’s just about having knowledge for future years and at least now we know more about how to prepare for this rally. It needs more detailed preparation compared to other rallies and the experience we’ve gained this week will help that in the future.”

Grégoire Munster

“A disappointing end to our experience in Greece, but generally we had some positives to take away. Especially on Friday when there were good conditions, we pushed and managed to get a third-fastest time which shows the potential of the car.

“In other places we managed to be cautious, we had a long-term strategy and finished Friday in fifth and then sixth on Saturday evening, so there were a lot of positives from the weekend. It wasn’t meant to be, but we will come back stronger.”

 

Oliver Solberg

“It’s such a nice feeling,” smiled Oliver, shortly after celebrating with his fiancé, Chloe Chambers.

“This has been the absolutely perfect weekend. You hear so much about this event and you’re kind of a little bit scared for some of the stories – this is the Acropolis Rally, where anything can happen!

“Me and Elliott made a plan and we stuck with it, we pushed where it was safe and sensible, and we backed off to look after the tyres and the car where it was really bad. I’m really proud for this win, the way we managed the race and the tyres, and everything was really nice – it was a strategic win.

“I want to say a big thanks to the team. I know I say this every time, but it’s so true: Toyota and Printsport made the perfect car for the perfect rally and the same with Elliott. It’s fair to say this has been a hot one, with the temperature in the car so high at times, but he’s been so, so good with the notes and everything.

“I don’t know what else to say! I came here without so much experience, I didn’t feel I’d ever done the Acropolis properly and I wanted to put that right. We’ve done that. There wasn’t a single thing, it was a flawless rally.

“The icing on the cake has to be the championship lead again. Everything is feeling super-nice right now. Everything is working just like we want. I’m very happy!”

 

Summary

Well, what a win for the 2019 world champions. It’s really brought them back into the fight for the championship now just twelve points from the leaders. Next up is their home event as well.

 

It was a consistent drive from Seb and Vincent to the podium, giving Toyota some excellent points for the championship. They continue to hold second in the driver championship as well.

 

Finally, Adrien and Alex had a great drive and despite a slight error which damaged the suspension, they did well to score a second podium of the year.

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings 
After round 7

1	E. Evans	150
2	S. Ogier	141
3	O. Tänak	138
4	K. Rovanperä	117
5	T. Neuville	96
6	T. Katsuta	63
7	A. Fourmaux	61
8	S. Pajari	32
9	O. Solberg	19
10	G. Munster	18

 

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 7

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	358
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	293
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	97
4	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2	57