Hyundaiโs Ott Tanak passed Sebastien Ogierโs ailing Toyota to lead Acropolis Rally Greece at the end of Fridayโs opening leg, capping an incident-filled day that could significantly impact this yearโs FIA World Rally Championship title race.
Greece’s notoriously rugged gravel roads lived up to their punishing reputation, with four of the championshipโs top five drivers encountering trouble and dropping significant time. But Tanak (above) guided his i20 N Rally1 through the chaos unscathed, the Estonian topping a commanding Hyundai 1-2-3 overnight.
Eight-time WRC champ Ogier, who started the rally second in championship points, held an 11.7s lead over Tanak when M-Sport Fordโs Adrien Fourmaux retired from second overall due to a broken steering arm on the dayโs fourth stage. But disaster struck Ogier late in the day when a turbocharger issue on his GR Yaris Rally1 cost the Frenchman, whose limited 2024 schedule has rapidly transformed into a full-on title attack, around two-and-a-half minutes and relegated him to fourth.
Ogierโs misfortune compounded a disastrous day for the Toyota Gazoo Racing factory squad. Teammate Elfyn Evans dropped nearly nine minutes earlier in the day with a similar turbo issue, while Takamoto Katsuta retired on the morningโs final stage with rear suspension damage after mishearing a pacenote from co-driver Aaron Johnston.
Sebastien Ogierโs Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 had been leading on the rough Greek stages, until a turbo issue dropped him down the order.
Explaining the situation, Toyota technical director Tom Fowler said: โIt looks like Seb has lost the boost pressure from the turbocharger. We had Elfyn’s car this morning with the same symptoms.
โIt’s a huge disappointment because, clearly, it’s another rally after Finland where we have really strong performance in the car. In Finland we didn’t capitalize on that, and it looks like here, again, we’re not going to capitalize on the potential performance that both the car and the drivers have.โ
In contrast, Hyundai celebrated as Tanak led his i20 N Rally1-driving teammates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville by 21.8 and 23.4s respectively at the overnight halt. As it stands, the Korean marque is poised to significantly extend its advantage in the WRC manufacturersโ championship.
โWeโve got to be thankful for a trouble-free day. Itโs been tough with the heat and the rough conditions,โ said Tanak, who currently sits third in the WRC drivers’ standings. โItโs been a great day for Hyundai, but we all know thereโs more to come.โ
Sordo, making his first appearance since Rally Italy Sardinia in June, faced challenges of his own, managing a faulty hybrid unit throughout much of the afternoon. Current WRC points leader Neuville also encountered issues, nursing an engine problem in the morning that left his car running on reduced power, but crucially headed title rival Ogier by 1m41.2s overnight.
Elsewhere among the headlining Rally 1 crews, M-Sport Fordโs Gregoire Munster was forced to stop for a wheel change on the dayโs sixth and final stage. He now sits seventh overall, but had impressed with his pace and consistency prior to the late mishap.
M-Sport Fordโs Gregoire Munster held a solid top-five spot until picking up a puncture on the dayโs final stage. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Poolย
In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Estoniaโs Robert Virves vaulted from fourth to first on the dayโs final stage, snatching the lead after heartbreak struck Yohan Rossel.
Citroen C3 driver Rossel dominated the dayโs early stages, posting fastest class times on the first five tests and building a commanding 46.5s lead over his closest WRC2 rival. However, his fortunes took a dramatic turn on the closing 14.52-mile Tarzan test when he was forced to stop seven miles in to change a wheel. He lost more than two minutes and tumbled to sixth in the standings.
โThe only positive is weโll have a better road position tomorrow,โ said Rossel. โItโs tough because we gave everything, but itโs the same for some of the others, and thereโs still a long way to go.โ
Skoda Fabia RS driver Virves had been lying fourth before the final stage, but a sensational time โ 11.1s faster than anyone else โ propelled him into the overnight lead, just 1.5s ahead of Sami Pajari in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Skoda Fabia RS driver Robert Virves climbed from fourth in WRC2 to leading the class after a scorching time on Fridayโs final stage. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Poolย
Saturdayโs second leg promises more challenges as the rough stuff continues. Six special stages add up to 72.22 competitive miles on the unforgiving roads south of Lamia.
WRC Rally Acropolis Greece, positions after Leg One, SS6
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h40m16.9s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +21.8s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +45.2s
4 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m26.4s
5 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS โ WRC2 leader) +3m10.9s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 โ WRC2) +3m12.4s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m08.4s
8 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS โ WRC2) +4m09.0s
9 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo der Ohannesian (Skoda Fabia RS โ WRC2) +4m19.7s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 โ WRC2) +4m22.5s
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