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Last weekend, the eighth round of the World Rally Championship season, the Acropolis Rally, was held around Loutraki, Greece. A total of 57 crews started the toughest gravel rally of the season, with 45 reaching the finish. Over four days, competitors had to complete 17 special stages and 318.97 stage kilometers.
Second win of the season for Robert Virves / Jakko Viilo. Romet Jürgenson / Siim Oja's rally ruined by a driving mistake on Friday's opening stage
In the WRC2 class, this year's Kenya WRC rally winners Robert Virves / Jakko Viilo (Škoda) scored their second points finish of the season on the Greek roads. The Estonians started the rally with the 13th fastest time on Thursday evening's short spectator stage. On Friday, out of six stages, the Toksport crew won one and finished the day in second place, 8.2 seconds behind the leaders.
The duel between the leaders Andreas Mikkelsen / Jorn Listerud (Škoda) and Virves / Viilo continued on Saturday. While the Estonians won one stage on Friday, they took four out of six on Saturday and ended the day still in second, 13.9 seconds behind.
Virves / Viilo kept pushing on Sunday morning, taking 3.3 seconds back from the leaders on the opening stage. On the second stage of the day, Mikkelsen suffered a puncture and had to change the tire, effectively ending the exciting battle for victory. Virves / Viilo, who also suffered a tire coming off the rim on the penultimate stage, took no big risks on the final stage and finished first in the WRC2 classification at the Greek WRC rally. This marked their second win of the season.
The Estonians, who won six stages and climbed to sixth in the points standings, ultimately finished 1:02.4 ahead of their teammates Mikkelsen / Listerud. Third in class were Alejandro Cachon / Borja Rozada (Toyota), who were 2:03.2 behind Virves / Viilo. In the WRC2 season standings, Roope Korhonen / Anssi Viinikka (Toyota), who finished fourth in Greece, continue to lead, with a 14-point advantage over Virves / Viilo.
"The feeling is great and I’m very happy with how things turned out. The days were quite long and intense. On the penultimate stage, we drove a tire off the rim and in the first corners of the last stage it seemed like the same problem, but in the end it wasn’t. I’m glad we made it through. The fact that there were so many single-pass stages was definitely a good thing, making the whole rally more drivable. I can’t complain about the situation and we need to keep going the same way. A fast summer awaits, and Estonia and Finland will be different challenges where we’ll have to push from the very first meter," Virves summarized the Greek WRC rally in an interview given to Täismäng and Delfi.
Also competing in Greece were Romet Jürgenson / Siim Oja (Ford), the only Estonians to have participated in all WRC rallies this season. Unfortunately, their rally, not counting for WRC2 points, suffered a setback on Friday’s opening stage, where a driving mistake in one corner broke the front left suspension and they had to retire for the day. The M-Sport crew returned on Saturday and Sunday, showing several Rally2 top-three stage times. They finished 22nd overall.
"Obviously, the mistake happened quite early, it’s entirely my fault and regrettable. On Saturday we showed good pace, but there are still things we can improve. On the positive side, the first passes of the new stages, which we drove purely on the notes, were solid, and I think that shows that part is strong. On Sunday, we were second on the PowerStage, which means there are some small positives to take away. Overall, I feel sorry for the team that I made the mistake. The next round is in Estonia and we’ll be giving it our all there," Jürgenson said after the rally via an M-Sport press release.
Sebastien Ogier / Vincent Landais took their first maximum points of the season and climbed to third in the championship
Sebastien Ogier / Vincent Landais claimed overall victory at the Greek WRC rally, battling Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe in a thrilling fight down to the last kilometers. After Thursday’s opening stage, the French crew led the eighth WRC round of the season, but by Friday evening the Belgians were in front, leading by 9.7 seconds. Both Neuville / Wydaeghe and Ogier / Landais only managed one stage win each on Friday, but on Saturday the French outscored the Hyundai crew 3-2, reducing the gap to just 4.1 seconds.
Championship leaders Ogier / Landais attacked immediately on Sunday’s opening stage, taking the rally lead by 1.3 seconds. On the next stage, both leading crews set identical times, but on the penultimate stage Neuville / Wydaeghe suffered double rear punctures, ending their fight for a third Greek WRC win.
Despite their rivals’ misfortune, Ogier / Landais maintained their pace, taking both the Sunday and PowerStage wins along with overall victory. This meant their first maximum points of the season. For Ogier, it was his 69th career WRC win and Toyota’s 112th.
"It feels good to win the Acropolis Rally again after a long time, and it seems the Greek gods were on my side once more. As often happens here, it was a very tough rally, especially for the tires. I’m glad we managed to avoid problems this time. The battle with Thierry was very close and there was no time to relax, even on the PowerStage, as the road conditions were very rough. I tried to drive as smoothly as possible, so I was surprised by the time we achieved, but I’m very happy we earned maximum points – that’s exactly what we needed," Ogier summed up his successful event.
Neuville / Wydaeghe, who finished second, were ultimately 58.3 seconds behind the winners. Toyota Gazoo Racing secured a double podium with Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston, who drove a very smart rally and finished 3:04.8 behind their victorious teammates.
Initially, Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy (Ford) finished fourth and Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria (Hyundai), who won five stages, finished sixth, but both received a one-minute penalty after the rally. The Irish crew were penalized for their co-driver’s seatbelt not being properly fastened before moving after SS16, and the French received a penalty for the same reason following a tire change after SS12.
These penalties promoted championship leaders Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin up two places to fifth. The British crew, who will also compete at the upcoming South Estonia Rally, now lead Katsuta / Johnston by 11 points in the championship, and Ogier / Landais, who hit the jackpot in Greece and moved up to third, by 37 points.
The World Rally Championship season continues in less than three weeks on the roads of South Estonia, with Delfi Rally Estonia taking place from July 16–19.
Photo: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool