Onto the final day then of this very tricky rally and the crews had four stages and 84 kilometres ahead of them to tackle the challenge was not over by any degree. Jourdain would open the road throughout the day, whilst Jon would follow him into the stage and would still be cleaning the road for the rest of the crews coming behind.

 

First up then was SS14 Aghii Theodori 1, a 25-kilometre stage to start the day. Adrien would set the pace from Seb and Thierry. There was a lead change as Seb passed Thierry, the gap between them just 1.3 seconds! After Elfyn’s problems at the end of Saturday, it was crazy to see him and Scott get another puncture on the first stage of the day, particularly given that they were looking to move up the standings. At least they didn’t have to stop to change the wheel during the stage.

 

Onto SS15 Loutraki 1 the 16-kilometre stage and what would be the rally ending powerstage. Seb was again fastest from Thierry and this time Takamoto. Adrien who had been running and holding third overall suffered a puncture and lost two positions and was now behind Sami and Elfyn and in seventh overall.

 

After a quick service break came SS16 Aghii Theodori 2 and Seb was fastest from Sami and Adrien. There was drama though for Thierry who suffered right-rear and left-rear punctures and lost 53 seconds to Seb, and this meant that it looked likely now Seb and Vincent would take victory. Sami was also moving up as he passed Josh for fourth position after the Puma crew got beached for thirty seconds or so on the edge of the road before getting going again.

 

We came then to the final stage, SS17 Loutraki 2 and it was a stage win for Seb from Sami and Thierry, Takamoto fourth fastest, whilst Elfyn took the final power stage point. This gave Seb and Vincent victory, with Thierry and Martijn second. Takamoto and Aaron finished third as well giving them good points for the championship.

 

Later the same day there were some penalties of a whole minute given to Josh and Adrien for seatbelt infringements. Adrien’s was from stage twelve on Saturday, whilst Josh’s came on Sunday’s penultimate stage. All of this meant that Sami moved into fourth and Elfyn up to sixth.

Here’s the final standings and we’ll hear from the drivers as well.

 

Final Overall Classification – Acropolis Rally

1	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:36:40.7
2	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+58.3
3	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+3:04.8
4	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+5:02.2
5	J. McErlean	E. Treacy	Ford Puma Rally1	+5:55.5
6	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+5:54.9
7	A. Fourmaux	A. Coria	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+6:08.7
8	M. Sesks	R. Francis	Ford Puma Rally1	+8:05.8
9	R. Virves	J. Viilo	Skoda Fabia RS	+9:50.1
10	A. Mikkelsen	J. Listerud	Skoda Fabia RS	+10:52.5

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“It feels good to win the Acropolis Rally again after many years. It seems like the Greek gods were with me once more! Like often here, it’s been a very tough rally, particularly for the tyres, so I’m glad that we were able to stay out of trouble this time. It was very close with Thierry and there was no chance to relax, even in the Power Stage because it was very rough. I tried to drive as gently as I could, so I was surprised by the time, but I’m very happy to take the maximum points, which is exactly what we needed.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s very good to finish on the podium after such a tough rally. It was difficult for us in the beginning running second on the road, but we were expecting this, and we had a clear plan to try and avoid problems and mistakes and just manage the situation. It worked out very well, so thank you to Aaron and to the team; we had no issues with the car at all. It’s been a good weekend and I’m looking forward to the high-speed rallies coming up.”

Sami Pajari

“It was a proper Super Sunday for us today and I think we need to be really happy about that. The beginning of the rally was very difficult for us, and it was tricky to recover from that, but I think that we got the most out of it that we could. We managed to make up quite a lot of positions and also take eight extra points from Sunday, so it’s really not been too bad an event in the end and we’re still in a good position in the championship with some nice rallies to come for us.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a tough weekend, in line with what we were expecting beforehand. After a difficult start on Friday, things were actually moving in the right direction and not looking too bad by Saturday afternoon, but then we got the puncture in the last stage. We tried to give it a good go today, but I touched a bank in the first stage which pushed the tyre off the rim. I’m disappointed with how it’s turned out but that’s the way it goes sometimes, and we just have to move on to the next one.”

Oliver Solberg

“I think we did the best that we could today. We at least managed to keep Elfyn behind us in the Super Sunday standings to take one point, but I don’t think it was possible to do more from our starting position. It’s been another blow this weekend and I’m very disappointed; it’s been tough lately with these little mistakes. I just need to keep believing and try to reset and find a better way forward, going into some rallies that I know well and am looking forward to.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“All in all, I have mixed feelings at the end of this rally. I’m obviously very disappointed not to be able to fight for the victory until the very end, but on the other hand I am very happy about our pace and the improvements we demonstrated this weekend. There are a lot of positives to take from Acropolis Rally, and we’ve also scored a solid haul of points. This gives us a good opportunity to get back into the championship fight, which was looking quite difficult for us. The fact that the championship leaders did not score many points is also good for us. With more gravel rallies to come, I hope we can carry this momentum forward.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“I think we deserved much more from Acropolis Rally. While I know it is a lottery, it felt like whenever I pushed I avoided punctures, but whenever I tried to be careful, I would get one. It’s almost unbelievable. In the end, it’s a huge shame, but overall, it has been a positive rally. We had the pace and were fighting for the win at the beginning before our issues. It’s frustrating for the championship, as I had high hopes of closing the gap in the points, and it hasn’t gone to plan. However, there is plenty for us to take into Estonia and beyond.”

Dani Sordo

“It has been a difficult rally for us. It started well, but the puncture on Friday took us out of the fight. We lost even more time with our second puncture on Saturday, and after that we were not confident with the tyres or the grip. In the end, we decided to retire the car before the Power Stage to give the team as much flexibility as possible for the two fast gravel events.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“It’s been really important, I think, to get a result like this – for me and Eoin, and for the team. It’s been a while since everyone’s had a result, and it was obviously a very challenging weekend with the rocks, the puncture risk and everything that comes with that. We made it a little difficult for ourselves going into the last stage, sliding into the ditch on the previous one, then having to push to protect the position for the final stage. But we’re very happy; it’s the best result we’ve had so far.” (These comments were made before they were given the minute penalty taking them down to sixth).

Jon Armstrong

“So that’s the Acropolis Rally finished. The first day went quite well to begin with – we made the most of our road position and got up to third overall with our first stage win. But then we had a technical issue and a couple of punctures, so we had to retire for the day. We spent the rest of the weekend road-sweeping, which was good learning, if a bit difficult after being on such a high the day before.

“There are still plenty of positives to take away, though – the pace we showed from that road position was really encouraging. We’re looking forward to the fast gravel rallies now and seeing what we can do there. It was a tricky one, a case of what might have been, but that’s how the Acropolis can be.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“Overall, I think the rally was okay, in the sense that we didn’t make any big mistakes – maybe we were lacking a little pace on Saturday morning, but otherwise we did a decent job from our side. It was a shame about the issue in service, which cost us time, but the team made a great effort to keep us on track. Now I’m looking forward to the next rallies.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“We had a fun rally, with a wonderful itinerary and some super nice stages. Unfortunately, the mechanical issues we had prevented us from getting the result we’d hoped for. But we still had a very good run, a very good drive, and made good progress with our driving, so on that side we’re quite happy. It’s amazing to drive in front of all the Greek supporters. All in all, still a nice weekend.”

Romet Jürgenson

“Obviously the mistake happened quite early on – that’s squarely on me and it’s unfortunate. But after that, on Saturday, we showed some decent pace and could improve on a few things. On the positive side, the pace was good on the first pass of the new stages, which is driven purely by pace notes, and I think that shows that side is decent. And today, second on the Power Stage as well – so there are these little positives to take. But overall, I’m sorry for the team that I made the mistake. Next time we’re in Estonia, so we’ll go flat out there.”

 

Summary – The Podium

It was a great win for the French crew in their Yaris and it’s brought them into the title fight. It’s fair to say they benefitted from a good road position on Friday and once they got ahead of Thierry and Martijn and then the Belgian’s suffered their double puncture the win was in their hands of Seb and Vincent.

 

For Thierry and Martijn it was a case of what might have been as they battled their old foe again for victory which was then ended early with the double puncture. It was good though to see Hyundai on the pace with their two permanent crews and perhaps in the coming rallies they will make their way to the top step again.

 

Finally, for Takamoto and Aaron, considering they were second on the road through Friday it was a very good drive to third overall, keeping themselves out of trouble. This delivered them a well-deserved podium and great points for their championship challenge.