Acropolis Rally – Day One
Hyundai Motorsport’s debut visit to the legendary Acropolis Rally, the first running of the event since 2003, has begun with Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja in a provisional second place, just 3.7-seconds from the lead.
Tänak said: “It has been a struggle today, and difficult to find the feeling and confidence in the car. I have tried my best to keep up the pace with the leaders, but we need to look for some improvements tomorrow if we are to stay in this fight. I have felt a bit out of my comfort zone today, so it’s hard to get to the limit without risking having a moment or a surprising situation, especially on a new rally like this when you don’t know the conditions and need the car to behave as you expect. Even so, it’s nice to be back here, driving on stages with a nice character. We’ve had amazing support from the crowds; it shows that the rally means something in Greece and this rally deserves to be on the championship.”
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
First WRC event for the Spanish crew
Holding fourth despite ten-second penalty for a jump start in SS3 (Loutraki)
Sordo said: “I can’t say I am fully happy with the day, or with being fourth on the classification; we always want to be higher up. I made a small mistake at the start of SS3 this morning and went a little bit before the start, so we got a ten second penalty. I was a bit excited to get going. Apart from that, it went OK. I lost a lot of time in some small parts, so there was room for improvement. It is my first WRC event with Cándido in the co-driver seat, and I am pleased with how it’s gone so far. We have a very long day tomorrow, so we have to push ourselves more.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Power steering issues caused substantial time loss at start of afternoon loop
Excellent mechanic work allowed the crew to regain speed and to claim stage win in SS6
Neuville said: “We have had a lot of problems, so it’s been a bit of a day to forget. We got hit by electrical trouble from the start this morning, and then had an issue with a leaking power steering. I was more of a mechanic than a driver at times today. We realised there was an issue in the tyre fitting zone, and our one goal was to repair the damage. We just didn’t have enough time. We managed it in the end, and I am proud of the job that we did to fix the car in time for the final two stages. Our only hope now is to try and catch back P7, or possibly P6, that’s about the best we can do. It’s going to be tough but we’re going to do our best and keep our motivation high until the end.”
Team Principal Andrea Adamo said: “The Acropolis Rally has shown once again, if it was needed, just how tough it is, and why it has been called the European Safari Rally. For us, Dani and Ott have had an OK day. Sadly, we have had a troubled day with Thierry, who has worked his usual magic to fix the car, so a big thanks to him for his efforts and his commitment every time he’s in the car. Ott has struggled with the set-up, but at the end of the day he is in second place with close margins between the drivers, so it’s close. There are still a lot of competitive kilometres tomorrow and Sunday, so we’ll do all we can this evening to make the cars more comfortable and come out fighting again tomorrow.”
Saturday at a glance
Another mix of gravel stages awaits on the penultimate day of the Acropolis Rally, covering six stages and a total of 132.56km of competitive action
The morning’s opening pair of stages – Pavliani (24.25km) and Gravia (24.81km) – will be followed by a Tyre Fitting Zone, and then another two stages – Bauxites (22.97km) and Eleftherohori (18.14km)
A late service will allow teams and crews to prepare for the final two timed tests, a repeat of Pavliani and Eleftherohori.Classification after Day One
1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 1:01:57.1
2 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +3.7
3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +3.9
4 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +23.9
5 A. Fourmaux R. Jamoul Ford Fiesta WRC +54.2
6 G. Greensmith C. Patterson Ford Fiesta WRC +1:23.3
Photo:Hyundai media
In their first WRC event as a partnership, Dani Sordo and co-driver Cándido Carrero currently hold fourth spot with Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe valiantly fighting to complete the first day, after sustaining power steering issues.
Acropolis Rally got underway in earnest on Thursday evening with a short super special in front of a packed crowd in Athens. However, the action intensified on Friday morning with a challenging series of gravel stages with no luxury of a midday service.
Tänak enjoyed a fast start through the 17.54km Aghii Theodori test, taking a stage win, before the schedule moved onto the 19.49km run through Loutraki. For Sordo, there was an early setback as the Spaniard was handed a ten-second penalty for jump starting the stage.
A tyre fitting zone was the only respite between the two loops, with crews using the time to adjust their set-ups ahead of a triple challenge in the afternoon.
A repeat of Aghii Theodori saw the Estonian duo set another strong time but there was technical drama for Neuville as his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC lost its power steering. The Belgians were forced to check into the stage late – incurring a four-minute time penalty – and then lost almost two minutes more as Neuville fought his way through the stage with sheer grit and muscle.
They used the long road section to fix to their power steering problems, and promptly set the second fastest time in Thiva – the longest stage of the day at 23.27km. Tänak ended the day with a fast time through the curtailed Elatia (11.65km) to move back into second spot overall, with Neuville being awarded the stage win after being held up on his run, heading a Hyundai 1-2-4.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Stage win for the Estonians in SS2 (Aghii Theodori)
Crew holds second place overall, 3.7-seconds from the rally lead with nine stages remaining
Acropolis Rally got underway in earnest on Thursday evening with a short super special in front of a packed crowd in Athens. However, the action intensified on Friday morning with a challenging series of gravel stages with no luxury of a midday service.
Tänak enjoyed a fast start through the 17.54km Aghii Theodori test, taking a stage win, before the schedule moved onto the 19.49km run through Loutraki. For Sordo, there was an early setback as the Spaniard was handed a ten-second penalty for jump starting the stage.
A tyre fitting zone was the only respite between the two loops, with crews using the time to adjust their set-ups ahead of a triple challenge in the afternoon.
A repeat of Aghii Theodori saw the Estonian duo set another strong time but there was technical drama for Neuville as his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC lost its power steering. The Belgians were forced to check into the stage late – incurring a four-minute time penalty – and then lost almost two minutes more as Neuville fought his way through the stage with sheer grit and muscle.
They used the long road section to fix to their power steering problems, and promptly set the second fastest time in Thiva – the longest stage of the day at 23.27km. Tänak ended the day with a fast time through the curtailed Elatia (11.65km) to move back into second spot overall, with Neuville being awarded the stage win after being held up on his run, heading a Hyundai 1-2-4.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Stage win for the Estonians in SS2 (Aghii Theodori)
Crew holds second place overall, 3.7-seconds from the rally lead with nine stages remaining
Tänak said: “It has been a struggle today, and difficult to find the feeling and confidence in the car. I have tried my best to keep up the pace with the leaders, but we need to look for some improvements tomorrow if we are to stay in this fight. I have felt a bit out of my comfort zone today, so it’s hard to get to the limit without risking having a moment or a surprising situation, especially on a new rally like this when you don’t know the conditions and need the car to behave as you expect. Even so, it’s nice to be back here, driving on stages with a nice character. We’ve had amazing support from the crowds; it shows that the rally means something in Greece and this rally deserves to be on the championship.”
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
First WRC event for the Spanish crew
Holding fourth despite ten-second penalty for a jump start in SS3 (Loutraki)
Sordo said: “I can’t say I am fully happy with the day, or with being fourth on the classification; we always want to be higher up. I made a small mistake at the start of SS3 this morning and went a little bit before the start, so we got a ten second penalty. I was a bit excited to get going. Apart from that, it went OK. I lost a lot of time in some small parts, so there was room for improvement. It is my first WRC event with Cándido in the co-driver seat, and I am pleased with how it’s gone so far. We have a very long day tomorrow, so we have to push ourselves more.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Power steering issues caused substantial time loss at start of afternoon loop
Excellent mechanic work allowed the crew to regain speed and to claim stage win in SS6
Neuville said: “We have had a lot of problems, so it’s been a bit of a day to forget. We got hit by electrical trouble from the start this morning, and then had an issue with a leaking power steering. I was more of a mechanic than a driver at times today. We realised there was an issue in the tyre fitting zone, and our one goal was to repair the damage. We just didn’t have enough time. We managed it in the end, and I am proud of the job that we did to fix the car in time for the final two stages. Our only hope now is to try and catch back P7, or possibly P6, that’s about the best we can do. It’s going to be tough but we’re going to do our best and keep our motivation high until the end.”
Team Principal Andrea Adamo said: “The Acropolis Rally has shown once again, if it was needed, just how tough it is, and why it has been called the European Safari Rally. For us, Dani and Ott have had an OK day. Sadly, we have had a troubled day with Thierry, who has worked his usual magic to fix the car, so a big thanks to him for his efforts and his commitment every time he’s in the car. Ott has struggled with the set-up, but at the end of the day he is in second place with close margins between the drivers, so it’s close. There are still a lot of competitive kilometres tomorrow and Sunday, so we’ll do all we can this evening to make the cars more comfortable and come out fighting again tomorrow.”
Saturday at a glance
Another mix of gravel stages awaits on the penultimate day of the Acropolis Rally, covering six stages and a total of 132.56km of competitive action
The morning’s opening pair of stages – Pavliani (24.25km) and Gravia (24.81km) – will be followed by a Tyre Fitting Zone, and then another two stages – Bauxites (22.97km) and Eleftherohori (18.14km)
A late service will allow teams and crews to prepare for the final two timed tests, a repeat of Pavliani and Eleftherohori.Classification after Day One
1 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 1:01:57.1
2 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +3.7
3 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC +3.9
4 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +23.9
5 A. Fourmaux R. Jamoul Ford Fiesta WRC +54.2
6 G. Greensmith C. Patterson Ford Fiesta WRC +1:23.3
