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Welcome to the Acropolis: WRC teams prepare for biggest test yet in Greece
The seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship heads deep into southern Europe and to Greece this weekend, and its teams best be ready to buckle up.
Extreme heat, choking dust, rough stages, physical and mental exhaustion - the Acropolis Rally Greece is not for the faint hearted.
A heartbreaker for drivers and co-drivers and car-breaker for their machines - speed isn’t necessarily king here - victory or defeat is balanced on the lap of the gods.
The halfway point of the high-speed, globe-trotting series could leave teams with heads in their hands or their fists clenched around the trophy.
The shimmering silver Toyota Yaris Rally1 cars from Toyota Gazoo Racing are still the cars to beat, picking up all the silverware - but the gap is ever closing.
The Japanese firm has won all six rallies to date and the man in form heading to the Acropolis is their legendary master of ceremonies Sébastien Ogier.
The eight-time world champion has won three of four rallies contested in his part-time campaign so far this year - in and the one that got away, he still finished second.
Ogier has downplayed a title push in a limited campaign, but the Frenchman has upped his event count already this year and has slashed the points gap to teammate Elfyn Evans down to 19 ahead of Greece.
Say what you will but if a ninth title is on - Ogier will be there. No questions.
WRC
Britain's Evans leads the championship however, and has two wins to his name this year too - yet his last victory came on the Safari back in March and his last podium was in the Canaries in April.
Due to leading the standings, he is the first car on the road for the following event - and thus becomes something of a road sweeper for cars behind on the loose gravel races.
This has seen him haemorrhaging time, with Evans struggling to get onto the podium. Yet Greece will have that effect but reliability will be more important than speed so if Evans can stay on the coattails of his rivals and with a bit of fortune, could see a strong result.
Kalle Rovanperä has the final Toyota win of the campaign, taking victory in the Canaries on Tarmac, with a pair of podiums in his last two races to boot too.
The Finn ran behind Evans then, a big difference that allowed the two-time champion to make inroads into Evans’ points lead as the Welshman came home fourth and sixth.
Rovanperä seems to have sussed the tyres from Hankook now and if the 2023 title-winning Kalle rocks up here, he could well blow away the opposition.
With Ogier’s return Takamoto Katsuta will drop into and lead the Toyota WRT2 team, and with the pressure off could well be a dark horse here as the Japanese driver goes well on tough events.
Stablemate Sami Pajari too is growing in confidence with every rally at the top table and could be an outside bet for a podium here in Greece if he can deliver.
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team and in particular Ott Tänak have really stepped it up a notch on the past two events to give them some hope of challenging the might of Toyota.
The i20 Rally1 just wasn’t a match for the Yaris on the snow or asphalt early in the season - but on the gravel, it’s been a different story. Tänak challenged for the win in both Portugal and Sardinia and with his home event in two rounds time, the Estonian is coming into a purple patch.
Fourth in the standings and only 25 points off the summit of the table, Hyundai will be more optimistic heading into the second half of the year.
Tänak’s teammates, 2024 Champion Theirry Neuville and young French hotshot Adrien Fourmaux will be buoyant by recent results from Tänak, but will need to both up their games to help with a manufacturers bid.
Following the turn of pace, and with a podium lockout in 2024 - Hyundai will be the ones who look to stamp their mark in Greece with its recent experience and success.
With the unpredictable nuances of the Acropolis Rally, M-Sport Ford need to be ready to pounce. Known to be a car breaker of a rally, the private M-Sport firm need to make sure the Puma Rally1 cars rolling off the factory floor in Cumbria are built like tanks.
They may not have the speed in the car or experience in the driver line-up, but with the pace at the front, this could see some casualties.
Cue the British team picking up a nice slice of the action. Grégoire Munster, Josh McErlean and Mārtiņš Sesks all have the pace for a top six result on merit, but with the luck of the gods, they could well be challenging for a podium if the Puma can hold up and drivers keep out of trouble.
Local legend Jourdan Serderidis is back for another event. The 61-year-old might not be fighting for the top results, but the home fans will be cheering him on stage side, as he goes in quest of scoring more world championship points.
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