The first full day of action on the Greek roads would see the crews tackle just over 120km’s in six stages. We had a leaderboard of sorts with Ott leading from Seb and Takamoto. The championship leader, Elfyn, was sixth. The day would not feature any full service at the service park, but there would be a remote service in the middle of the six stages.

First stage then of the day, SS2 Aghii Theodori 1 – 26.76 km and Seb was fastest from Sami and Thierry. Seb stayed in the lead from Thierry who jumped up three positions into second overall and Sami who gained six positions, moving into third overall. Martins had to stop his Puma in the stage to change a wheel, but Takamoto and Josh also had to stop to change as well after getting punctures.

It was all change at the top following SS3 Loutraki – 12.90 km. Adrien took the stage from Thierry and Ott. Seb fell from the lead to third whilst Thierry moved into the lead. Adrien gained four positions and moved into second overall. Meanwhile Elfyn continued to open the road and maintained seventh overall.

Before the remote service came SS4 Aghii Theodori 2 – 26.76 km and Seb set the pace just like earlier from Ott and Takamoto this time. Seb and Ott both gained positions with the Frenchman moving back into the lead from third overall, with Ott now second and Adrien dropping one position to third. The big loser was Thierry who fell from the lead to sixth place. The Belgian had a puncture but did not stop. It was a rough stage and even the top two had tyre trouble.

Then came the afternoon stages and the temperatures were really climbing out there. The first of three completely new stages, SS5 Thiva – 19.58 km saw Adrien set the pace from Ott and Seb. Kalle was fourth fastest and moved up into fourth overall. Thierry had another puncture and lost five positions falling to eleventh overall. Things were going well for Elfyn who’d kept out of trouble and was now in sixth place.

Onto the penultimate stage then, SS6 Stiri – 24.18 km and Adrien was again fastest from Ott and Greg. Ott took the lead and Adrien gained a position moving into second place with Seb falling to third. Also gaining a couple of positions was Elfyn who moved into fourth place. It was Kalle who lost time dropping four positions to eighth place. Also climbing the leaderboard was Greg who after his third fastest time was now up to fifth overall. Thierry gained one position, moving back into the top ten.

The final stage then, SS7 Elatia – 11.58 km and Thierry was back to stage winning pace with his teammates Ott and Adrien with the second and third fastest respectively. Thierry gained a couple of places moving inti eighth overall.

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

Classification after Day One

1 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 1:25:07.4 2 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +3.0 3 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +16.9 4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:21.5 5 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 +1:43.3 6 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:34.3 7 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:38.1 8 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +2:38.3 9 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris +2:48.4 10 K. Kajetanowicz M. Szczepaniak Toyota GR Yaris +3:41.8

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“It’s been a very positive day all together. We could see that it was a super demanding day on many fronts, so at times it was difficult to keep it all in one piece, but we are happy that we didn’t have any troubles with the car or the tyres. It’s been really long: 15 hours in the car in 41 degrees means it’s been a difficult journey. Tomorrow will be a much slower day; very technical, twisty and narrow passes through the forests. Let’s see what it has in store, I’m sure it won’t get any easier.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Today was really positive, but we need to get some time back from SS2 this morning when we were slowed down by Katsuta’s dust. It was a really good day for me, we were managing well on the rougher parts of the stages so we could push where it was clean, and this paid off. Generally, our road position was beneficial, but we still had the issue of some really rough areas that forced us to slow down, compromising us a bit throughout the day. Nevertheless, the handling of the car was great. When you start to push too hard in Greece, you get into trouble, so I will keep today’s approach for tomorrow.”

Thierry Neuville

“We didn’t expect to get two punctures in a row and lose that much time, so that was a huge frustration – it felt like we got hit by a big hammer twice. I really struggled to bounce back this afternoon; we didn’t have enough liquid in the car, and I was really not feeling well, so altogether a big struggle. It’s definitely a tough event, but I have never had this many punctures since the start of a season in my career. We need to have something more reliable – deciding results on tyres is not nice.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“Overall, the day has been very positive; to be where we are from second on the road is better than we expected. The morning loop was especially good for us with the two stage wins in Aghii Theodori. Loutraki on the other hand was a proper taste of what was to come in the afternoon – on those stages the cleaning effect was much harder, and we lost some time. I am still pretty pleased with what we achieved and with the car, and with a better start position tomorrow we can be even more competitive.”

Elfyn Evans

“It was tough today. It was hot and we definitely suffered opening the road. It was a tough position to be in, especially with how the afternoon stages were, having to clean everyone. I am not particularly happy with how the day went and with how difficult it was to get a good feeling in the conditions that we faced. Fourth is a reasonable position to be in with several others having had trouble today, but there is still a long way to go, and we need to keep driving a clean rally.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Unfortunately, we had to change a tyre early in the first stage this morning; we’re not sure what happened but the roads were rough and there was a very big step in the bedrock. But there can be many dramas on Acropolis, so I made an effort to avoid a similar issue later and also avoid any mistakes. By the end of the day, we recovered to sixth overall, which is good considering what happened this morning. It is still a long way to go, and anything can happen, so I will keep pushing enough while avoiding trouble.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been a demanding day on the cars, the tyres and the crews – it has been so hot. I wasn’t able to have the pace that I wanted in the morning which was quite annoying. Also, the roads were so rough that with many big hits to the car we picked up some damage and carried this for the rest of the day. On a rally like this you need some luck, and we didn’t have it today but tomorrow we can try again.”

Sami Pajari

“We had really tough and tricky conditions today. There are so many rocks and anything you hit can lead to trouble. I was pushing in some places but being clever in the tricky sections. It was going quite well in the morning; we were in the game, and I was really happy with the car and the driving. Unfortunately, after SS5 we found we had a technical issue and couldn’t go any further. It was a pity, but Acropolis is so rough that these things can happen, and hopefully we can restart tomorrow.”

 

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been quite warm at times,” grinned Oliver. “But OK, we are here, and we’ve been able to drive like we wanted through the day. The key to a rally like this is to try to drive neatly, keep the car as straight as possible and try to avoid the rocks.

“There are so many rocks out there, it’s impossible to miss them all. But I think we’ve done a good job with our Toyota GR Yaris today.

“I didn’t do this event last year, actually I only started it twice before and I haven’t finished either time. Elliott and me want to change that this year. It’s quite tricky at times because we haven’t competed on some of these stages before and when you have the dust hanging in the road it can be a bit complicated. I’m driving with a little bit spare, not going flat out – the risk is really high if you do that.

“Like I said, I want to finish, and I would love to win this rally in this beautiful country.”

Saturday

The second day will see the crews face 123km’s over six stages, with the afternoon stages being a full rerun of the morning stages.

Can Seb fight back into the lead, or will we see Ott continue to hold the lead at the end of the day. Perhaps Adrien could be in the top spot as well?

We shall find out at the end of tomorrow!

Time for the seventh round of the season and this is a big one for the championship! These roads which make some of the trickiest and roughest on the calendar. Elfyn and Scott will be opening the road throughout Friday’s stages of which is a total of 123km’s of competitive over six stages.

Here’s a full view of the stages this weekend.

Weekend at a Glance

• Thursday evening marks the start of the competitive action in Athens with EKO Athens (SS1, 1.50km)
• Friday’s marathon includes seven stages: two loops of Aghii Theodori (SS2/4, 26.76km) and single passes through Loutraki (SS3, 12.90km), Thiva (SS5, 19.58km), Stiri (SS6, 24.18km) and Elatia (SS7, 11.58km)
• Saturday sees six stages form its itinerary: two runs of Pavliani (SS8/11, 24.58km), Karoutes (SS9/12, 19.48km) and Inohori (SS10/13, 17.66km)
• Sunday’s finale is comprised of four stages: Smokovo (SS14/16, 26.16km) debuts in Thessaly, while the classic Tarzan (SS15/17, 23.37km) runs twice, with the second loop as the Power Stage.

 

Let’s hear from the drivers.

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The Acropolis is another of the tougher gravel rallies on the calendar with a hard and rocky base and a lot of loose rocks. We’re going there at a different time of year to usual, so it has the potential to be very hot and demanding for the cars and the tyres. We also know we will face the familiar challenges opening the road on the Friday, when there are a lot of stages run only once. Our performance was stronger in Sardinia and we’re hoping we’ve made some further improvements in testing and can be more competitive again in Greece.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“In Sardinia we were able to find some good pace and score quite a lot of points in the end, and hopefully we can continue like this for Greece. It’s a rally that has been quite good for us in the past and we’ll try to fight for another strong result. The style of the stages and the surface are a bit different to Sardinia, and it can be harder for the tyres if you’re pushing hard. But we had a chance to test in Greece last week to try and work on this and keep improving the car for these conditions, and this should help us to be prepared.”

Sébastien Ogier

“Sardinia was a very positive weekend for us and I was back in the car two days later to test for Greece and to try and confirm the good progress we made with the setup. The challenges in Greece are not so different, with high temperatures and a rough and rocky surface, and hopefully we can be strong once more in these conditions. It could again be a challenging Friday for the team with our road positions, and this time I’ll be running second so it might be even harder to win this one, but I’m never afraid of any challenge so let’s see what we can do.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m looking forward to going back to Greece. Last year I had good speed there and this time I’m aiming for a better result. Sardinia was a difficult rally but by the end we had good speed, and we were able to find an even better feeling in the car during our pre-event test in Greece last week. The Acropolis is never an easy rally because you need to be able to take care of the car and the tyres, and there will be some new stages again this year. But having confidence in the car always makes it easier to start and I will give my best.”

Sami Pajari

“It’s really helpful for me to have these gravel rallies back-to-back to build up the experience and confidence. In Portugal we could have a nice clean rally, and then in Sardinia the pace was coming more naturally, so hopefully we can continue like this for Greece. Like with Sardinia, I have some good memories of winning WRC2 there last year. At the same time, on rough rallies like these you need to be very careful in the lower categories to look after the car, whereas the Rally1 car can handle a lot more, so you need to learn to trust it and get used to being able to push harder.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“Greece is the final in a row of three rough rallies in a row after Portugal and Sardinia, yet it is very different in comparison. Greece has wider roads, but they’re quite solid. It’s not been super rough in the past couple of years – some stages for sure, but it’s still historically a very demanding rally. This year, with the event moving to June, the heat plays a big part on both us as crews and on the car.”

Thierry Neuville

“Last year in Greece, we secured our second 1-2-3 finish for Hyundai Motorsport – it was a stunning weekend. This year, we know we have a good car. The pace in Sardinia was there but we were really unlucky all weekend. It was frustrating for us not to transform that speed into a podium or a win. We will give it our all in Greece; it will be tough with the heat, and we need to make sure we stay out of trouble. It’s rough on the car and the tyres, so we need to manage those elements. My goal is to outscore my opponents, but I would like to build some momentum and return to the podium.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Sardinia taught us what we need to improve on the car for Acropolis Rally, and considering our road position, we need to do everything we can to optimise it. It’s one of the roughest events of the season, and the risk of punctures is really high, so reliability is our biggest priority. Tyre choice can be very difficult, and combined with the abrasive stages, it can be really gruelling. It’s similar to the last round, but it will be even hotter, which is tough for both us and the car. The event itself is great, the atmosphere and fans make it one of the best. We need to be back on form here, we will do everything we can to have a solid weekend.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“Of course, we are looking to do better than in Sardinia. Although we aren’t testing in Greece, we used Saturday in Sardinia to get some ideas, and with those ideas we will start the rally in Greece and I’m quite confident we will do well with the package we have. We have done a lot of preparation with the engineers and so I feel well-equipped for this next challenge.

Like Sardinia, the event will be a long and hot one, and there will definitely be opportunity to bring home a good result and we will aim to score some good points next week.”

Josh McErlean

“Heading into the Acropolis Rally, the focus is on a clean and consistent performance. It’s no secret this event is one of the demanding ones on the calendar – the heat, the rough stages. After the disappointment in Sardinia, I really want to deliver a solid result for the team. They’ve worked incredibly hard, and they deserve something to show for it. Our aim is to stay out of trouble, manage the conditions smartly, and hopefully come away with a strong, trouble-free rally.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“This will be my first time ever visiting Greece, so really we have no idea of what awaits us there. I remember watching the rally during my childhood, hearing the name Acropolis Rally and knowing that means something demanding and rough! It will be interesting to experience that, and we hope for a good weekend there. There will certainly be some steep learning curves, but we will come out stronger at the end.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Acropolis is the most highly anticipated and important event of our season. We have been preparing our program with the objective to get a Top-10 in Lamia (even though we already got a Top-8 in Kenya!). To reach this goal, we need to improve again our pace compared to Sardinia and continue to also improve the setup of the car with the Hankook tyres.

“We still have a PET on Saturday to prepare. We are super excited to meet again the Greek fans who can also give us an additional boost which can make a real difference. We will also be fighting for the 1st Greek Cup, so we have plenty of challenges here!”

 

Oliver Solberg

“Everything feels good. We worked well with the car in Sardinia, we found a set-up which we think was taking the best from the tyres and now we’re looking to fine-tune that a little bit for Greece.

“Sardinia and Acropolis are quite similar in the fact they’re both hot and rough events, but the surface can be a little bit different here in Greece. It’s all about those really fine margins and making sure we have the car absolutely dialled.

“Like I said, our test was good – how can you not be smiling when you have a car like this Toyota to drive on a fantastic road with the sun shining and not a cloud coming in the sky. This is the summertime now and, like you know, Swedish people, we like to celebrate the middle of summer. Taking a win this week would be a good way to do that.”

That baking hot summer will take its toll on both the crew and the car, however; mid-stage temperatures in the cockpit of the GR Yaris Rally are likely to rise north of 60 degrees.

“Definitely this is one of the hotter ones. These are the ones you work hard in the gym and the sauna all winter for. Being physically fit is crucial here – when the heat is coming you get tired faster and that’s where the mistakes can come.”

 

Summary

Well, what an epic event the crews and teams are facing. The road position for those further back in the championship will be the key for those who want to stand on the podium on Sunday. Could Hyundai finally take victory this weekend? All three crews have shown pace yet have made mistakes and had issues with the car as well.

 

M-Sport have had a couple of tricky rallies with crashes and the team will want to make the finish without any problems. It will be interesting to see what their strategy will be.

 

At Toyota with five cars entered, they will look to Seb and Kalle to keep the Hyundai’s at bay and limit the points their championship rivals can score and hope that Elfyn can maintain a decent lead in the championship.

 

Enjoy!