Ott Tanak held onto the lead to win FIA WRC Acropolis Rally in tough conditions, ahead of Sebastien Ogier and Adrien Fourmaux.
Friday:
EKO Acropolis Rally Greece wasted no time in living up to its fearsome billing, with Sébastien Ogier emerging from a chaotic Friday morning loop as the early leader. After three punishing gravel stages, the Toyota driver held a 6.1sec advantage over Ott Tänak, with Adrien Fourmaux third overall for the Korean marque – but the real story was the sheer attrition already unfolding in the Greek mountains.
Ogier was fastest on two of the three stages despite reaching the end of SS4 with a partially deflated front-left tyre. Others weren’t so fortunate. Thierry Neuville had briefly grabbed the lead after SS3, but his charge unravelled on the final stage of the loop. A front-left deflation near the end of Aghii Theodori 2 forced him to complete the stage on the wheel rim, costing around 40 seconds and dropping him to sixth.
Tänak, too, faced early challenges – calling his SS2 tyre choice “completely stupid” – but recovered well to stay in touch with Ogier. Fourmaux, meanwhile, delivered a calm and consistent loop. The Frenchman set the pace on SS3 and now sits a strong third overall at the day’s midpoint. Behind the leading trio, Sami Pajari continued to impress.
The young Finn briefly held third overall and ended the loop fourth despite suffering heavy tyre wear. He sits 4.9sec ahead of Kalle Rovanperä, who has struggled with confidence and reported excessive oversteer in his GR Yaris. Neuville is sixth, followed by Elfyn Evans, who is enduring a tough start to his Acropolis campaign. First on the road, the Welshman described his car as “really difficult to turn” and dropped 42.5sec off the lead by midday.
Grégoire Munster was eighth, with WRC2 frontrunners Oliver Solberg and Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounding out the overall top 10. Mārtiņš Sesks, Takamoto Katsuta and Josh McErlean all dropped time earlier in the loop after stopping to change wheels.
Saturday:
Ott Tänak is on the verge of delivering Hyundai Motorsport its first victory of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season after a commanding Saturday at the scorching EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. The Estonian began the day with a slender 3.0sec advantage but blew the field apart in searing central Greek heat, claiming five stage wins out of six to establish a 43.6sec buffer over Sébastien Ogier heading into Sunday’s four-stage finale.
With temperatures rising and roads rapidly deteriorating, Tänak kept it tidy aboard his i20 N Rally1 while others hit trouble. He’s now perfectly placed to take his first win since Central European Rally last October – and is poised to climb to second in the championship depending on how Sunday unfolds.
Behind him, Ogier focused on consistency rather than chasing stage wins. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver edged Tänak by just 0.1sec in SS10 – the only stage Tänak didn’t top – but chose not to take unnecessary risks elsewhere. Trouble is exactly what befell Adrien Fourmaux. The Frenchman had held second until an impact with a rock in SS10 damaged the rear suspension of his i20 N Rally1. He dropped over a minute and later reached the end of SS11 with a tyre off the rim.
Despite the drama, he clung on to third overnight, 1min 24.4sec adrift of Tänak. Elfyn Evans remained a distant fourth after a steady but unspectacular day. The Toyota man repeatedly described the conditions as “very rough” and ended the leg over three minutes off the lead – but with championship rival Thierry Neuville behind, Sunday’s bonus-point opportunities remain critical.
Further back, the Acropolis continued to punish. Kalle Rovanperä was running mid-pack before going off in SS11, while Takamoto Katsuta also slid wide and became beached in the same test. Both Toyota drivers retired for the day. It was another bruising leg for Neuville. After losing time to a puncture in the morning, the Hyundai man fought back into fifth overall – though still over a minute behind Evans.
Grégoire Munster completed the leg sixth despite struggling with a faulty handbrake throughout the day. Oliver Solberg continued to lead WRC2 in seventh overall with a comfortable buffer over Gus Greensmith, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Yohan Rossel. Josh McErlean dropped to 13th after nursing a broken rear driveshaft through two morning stages and completing the afternoon with no handbrake.
Sunday:
Ott Tänak overcame late drama to seal a commanding victory at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece on Sunday, reigniting his FIA World Rally Championship title challenge alongside co-driver Martin Järveoja. The Hyundai driver had been in fine form all weekend and looked set to complete a clean final day, winning two of Sunday’s four punishing gravel stages. But a gearbox issue struck on the Wolf Power Stage, leaving Tänak to crawl to the finish.
Despite the setback, he had built enough of a margin to hang on – securing his and Hyundai’s first victory since the 2024 Central European Rally by 32.8sec with a result that also ended Toyota’s unbeaten run in 2025. The result moves the Estonian to within just 12 points of championship leader Elfyn Evans, with Ogier sitting between the pair, three points ahead of Tänak. With his home round in Estonia followed by the ultra-fast stages of Finland next on the calendar, Tänak and Järveoja enter a pivotal stretch on familiar ground.
Ogier, who led early in the rally, settled for second – his fifth podium in as many starts this season. The eight-time world champion, who is set to skip the next round, bolted brand-new soft compound tyres to his GR Yaris Rally1 for the final loop and snatched the Wolf Power Stage win. Adrien Fourmaux celebrated his second podium with Hyundai in third after recovering from Saturday suspension damage.
It was a much-needed result for the Frenchman, who hadn’t scored points since his fifth-place finish in the Canary Islands back in April. Championship leader Evans took fourth place despite opening the road on Friday. A solid haul of points – including fourth in the Wolf Power Stage – helped minimise the damage to his title lead. Thierry Neuville salvaged fifth overall after Friday punctures derailed his early podium push.
A damaged shock absorber and a mysterious technical issue – which forced the Belgian to stop and restart his car in the penultimate stage – further compounded a frustrating weekend. Grégoire Munster had been running just behind before M-Sport opted to retire his Puma Rally1 during Saturday evening service due to a technical issue – promoting WRC2 winner Oliver Solberg to sixth overall.
Solberg led home a pack of WRC2 runners, with Gus Greensmith holding off Yohan Rossel to claim second in the category and seventh overall. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Alejandro Cachón completed the top 10. Toyota duo Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta both returned under restart rules following Saturday retirements. Rovanperä’s hopes of scoring Super Sunday points were dashed by a wheel change on SS15, while Katsuta was forced to stop and change a wheel in the Wolf Power Stage.
[The story is as per press release]
