An enforcement of hybrid unit safety measures effective from last weekend’s Acropolis Rally could increase costs for World Rally Championship teams moving forward.

Since the introduction of hybrid power to WRC Rally1 cars in 2022, engineers have been able to reset shock errors on the Compact Dynamics designed unit if they go above a certain threshold.

However, from last weekend, the hybrid unit user guide, in place since its inception, will now be enforced for the remaining rounds of the season if a unit exceeds a stipulated number of shocks.

If a hybrid unit suffers three shock errors over 15G or one over 25G it now has to be stripped apart and sent back to Compact Dynamics for a full repair that can take months to complete.

The user guide has been enforced on safety grounds because some units have received «a lot of shock errors,» according to FIA road sport director Andrew Wheatley.

There have been concerns raised that teams could be forced to buy new units to add to their pool should any of their hybrid units require a full repair. 

«What’s changed in the user guide is that up until the last rally in Finland, if it [the unit] went over [the threshold] the engineer on site would just automatically wipe the errors and go again, pretty much, no matter what had happened to it,» said Wheatley.

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

«Now what they’ve [Compact Dynamics] identified is that if it goes three times over 15[G] or one time over 25 [G] it has to be stripped apart. You can’t just clear it and off it goes.»

Asked if teams may be required to outlay more money moving forward, Wheatley added: «I think they certainly [will have] have to juggle. 

«Once they’ve [the units] got three shocks they need to be inspected and it’s a big job. Inspecting them is not just opening the top and checking inside you have to go into the battery, and that’s really destructive. 

«It depends on where they are in the build cycle but it can be [months before they can repaired]. You have a problem [if you don’t have a lot of units], so that is why they [the teams] want to balance. 

«Actually, most of them [the shock errors] come from either where there’s a tyre off, or a damper is broken. [Kalle] Rovanpera’s [spectacular crash in Finland] is fine because you’ve dissipated the energy.»

Motorsport.com understands the implementation of the user guide has played a role in determining the use of a non-hybrid M-Sport Ford Puma for Martins Sesks at Rally Chile later this month. 

It is expected that the matter will be discussed at the WRC Commission on Wednesday, with Wheatley revealing there could be further changes to the user guide.  

Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: Tomasz Kalinski

«Now, where we are with Compact Dynamics at the moment, it’s a constant evolutionary process backwards and forwards all the time,» he added.

«There were three people here [in Greece] collecting data from every stage, every activity, sharing it with the guys from FIA and working through where the challenges are, where the opportunities are, and I think we will have more evolution of these discussions. 

«There will be more versions of the user manual. The advantage of the regulation is you can change it when you have a problem. It’s about the supplier deciding at what level they are prepared to accept liability.»

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The radical World Rally Championship points system introduced this season that has divided opinion is being reviewed and could undergo a change next year.

This year’s all-new points structure has proved a hot topic among competitors and fans thanks to its complexity and weighting that many feel has devalued the overall rally victory.

This year, points have been split across Saturday and Sunday with drivers able to claim provisional points for their overall position at the end of Saturday’s leg which are then banked if they reach the end of the rally.

A sliding scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 is awarded to the top 10 at the end of Saturday, but only to those crews who reach Sunday’s event finish.

In addition to this, Sundays offer up a separate points allocation [7-6-5-4-3-2-1] to the top seven fastest crews across Sunday’s stages on top of the 5-4-3-2-1 system for the top five times on the rally-ending Power Stage.

While the new system was designed to improve the action on Sunday, and has been highly effective at creating excitement, drivers and teams have been highly critical of the points weighting of the system that has been derided on several occasions. The ire seems to stem from the fact that a rally winner can quite easily leave the weekend without scoring the most points.

Four proposals to amend the points system for next year have been submitted and are currently being evaluated by the WRC Commission.

“We have currently four proposals, different systems that we are checking to see how each system if it was in place today would look,” WRC Commission president Pernilla Solberg told Motorsport.com.

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“We now want to make sure everyone agrees and understands and then that will be voted on later this year.”

FIA road sport director Andrew Wheatley expects the WRC Commission will commit to an evolution of the points system for 2025.

“Some people have complained about the point system,” said Wheatley.

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“Others have used it a bit strategically or to their advantage, or used it to get them out of jail. But then other people don’t want to put the risk in.

“What we haven’t heard this year so far is that we’ve had boring Sundays.

“I think there will be an evolution, no question, It will be decided by the WRC Commission and they don’t have to do that until the last session of the year.”

Sebastien Ogier has revealed that a puncture contributed to his final stage roll at the Acropolis Rally that has “put ourselves in a bad position” in the World Rally Championship title battle.

The eight-time world champion appeared on course to finish second behind eventual winner and title rival Thierry Neuville before crashing out on the rally-ending Power Stage that halted any hopes of claiming Super Sunday points.

Ogier managed to repair damaged suspension incurred to his GR Yaris in the accident and was able to eventually nurse the car home to claim 13 points after ending Saturday sitting in third position.

When asked to explain what happened on the final stage, he said: “There were rocks everywhere in this one, and I knew it and this one I hit is a place where you have to go in the cut which is full of rocks and it is matter of centimetres if you hit the right one or not.

“The time that I realised I had a puncture at the next braking I didn’t anticipate it enough and it is quite a high speed section per a crest. I couldn’t brake and I understeered and I ended up rolling.

“Luckily I managed to fix the car because it was not looking so good and one wheel was nearly off and I was not confident I could fix it. But it worked so I could recover what I could for the team.

“At the end I have no problem to take the responsibility of this crash after the puncture and not being able to react quickly enough and stop and change this puncture.”

Sébastien Ogier, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Ogier had led the rally heading into stage five when a turbo failure cost him more than two-and-a-half minutes, ending his victory hopes. The part-time driver, who wasn’t expected to fight for the title, was Neuville’s nearest rival in the championship [27 points adrift], but now finds himself 38 points in arrears.

“It [the title hopes] wasn’t looking really good before now and it is not going in the right direction that is for sure,” he said.

“That is not a big deal for me, it was something that popped up and I said ‘let’s see what happens this weekend’, which would be a weekend where the luck factor would play a big role.”

He added: “Obviously the last two events have been hard on the team, especially on Sunday, which these days is crucial, which means we lost ground and put ourselves in a bad position for the championship.”

Ogier fined €30,000 for stage end comments

Following the conclusion of the rally, the stewards have issued Ogier with a €30,000 fine suspended for two years for comments made on television at the end of Friday’s opening test.

Ogier was frustrated by hanging dust due still around in the three minute gaps between the Rally1 cars. The Toyota driver was not the only competitor to complain about the matter and from the next stage four minutes gaps were introduced by the event organisers.

“It is annoying to see that the sport never learns. We ask, we know that we are going to have dust. There is hanging dust. Oh, they say no. What do you have in your head? Nothing. It’s crazy,” said Ogier at the end of stage one.

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

The stewards report states that Ogier explained the comments in the “heat of the moment because [it] was related to a safety issue” and that he apologised for his choice of words that were not “addressed to anyone specifically”.

“Mr Kaj Lindstrom [Toyota sporting director] asked the Stewards to take in consideration that Mr. Ogier made another statement on Rally.tv at the end of SS2, thanking for increasing the gap between P1 competing cars from SS2,” the stewards report stated.

“Furthermore, he added that he had asked, before the start of the rally and through the main Officials, for the possibility to have a four-minute gap instead of three.

“The Stewards considered that Mr. Ogier’s statement, even if it was not addressed to anyone in particular, is directly prejudicial to the FIA and its officials, as well as the local officials and hundreds of volunteers who are working on the rally, all in the interest of safety of spectators, competitors and officials.

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“Motorsport events are organised with a very well-known structure to support teams and drivers. The way how to address their requests or issues or claims is well defined by clear procedures.

“Even if Mr. Ogier made a statement related to a safety issue, this cannot be taken into consideration as a mitigating circumstance.

“All people are free to express their thoughts, but they must always be careful not to incur in general offences or deeds contrary to the interest of the sport. All statements made through live TV and/or social media in general, are shown to millions of spectators around the world.”

Thierry Neuville clinched victory in the toughest Acropolis Rally in recent years to boost his World Rally Championship title hopes after rival Sebastien Ogier rolled on the final stage.

WRC points leaders Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe claimed a second win of the season by 1m36.8s from team-mate Dani Sordo, with Ott Tanak third [+2m57.3s] to complete a surprise Hyundai 1-2-3. Neuville’s main title rival Ogier appeared on course to finish second before rolling his Toyota GR Yaris in the drama-filled final stage.

Eight of the nine Rally1 crews hit serious trouble across the three days of competition as the event left a significant mark on the title race.

Neuville’s run to victory, starting first on the road, wasn’t without problems after his i20 N was reduced to three cylinders for Friday’s opening three stages, before ending Friday 45.2s adrift in third position.

Title rival and part-time driver Ogier lit up the timing screens and was clearly the fastest driver on Friday. The eight-time world champion led Tanak by 11.7s before a turbo failure emerged at the end of stage five. The Frenchman dropped more than two and half minutes, effectively curtailing his victory bid.

This handed Tanak the lead, that he had briefly held after stage two, heading into Saturday, but the 2019 world champion became the next driver to hit trouble on the rough travel roads. Tanak was forced to stop and change a wheel twice after suffering punctures on stage seven that cost him more than four minutes, dropping him to fourth overall — picking up 10 Saturday points.

Team-mate Sordo inherited the rally lead before he hit a rock causing puncture in stage nine. His right-rear tyre delaminated ripping a hole in the bodywork on the rear quarter of his i20 N.

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Neuville picked up the baton to become the rally’s fourth different leader. The Belgian managed to avoid issues through a Saturday, without a service, to head in to the final three stages with a 53.7s lead over Sordo, who took 15 points, as Neuville claimed the provisional 18 points in the process. Ogier pushed on to close the gap to 1m20.9s to secure 13 points.

Ogier once again proved his speed on the tricky tests topping the Sunday standings comfortably before his rally unravelled in spectacular fashion when he misjudged left-hander and rolled.

Incredibly, Ogier was able to bring the car to the finish after a lengthy delay to salvage his 13 Saturday points that he only picks up for finishing the rally.

The accident came after the 18.29km Power Stage was interrupted due to a spectator medical issue that required an ambulance.

Not wanting to risk losing his Saturday points with an issue on Sunday’s damp and muddy stages, Neuville managed to not overstep the mark to clinch the win and 24 points.

The points haul means Neuville’s lead over Ogier in the title race has extended to 34 points over Tanak, who moved to second in the standings.

Tanak came through to finish third overall despite a slow left-front puncture but managed to add three extra points following Ogier’s exit. He added 11 Sunday points to his total after finishing first in the Sunday rankings and second on the Power Stage.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Such was the attrition of the event, Sami Pajari winner of the WRC2 class finished fourth overall. The victory came in dramatic circumstances as a left-front puncture on the final stage left the Finn and his rival Robert Virves on identical overall times. Pajari took the win virtue of his more superior performance compared to Virves on the first stage. Virves was only competing in Greece following a successful crowd funding campaign.

Toyota title contender Elfyn Evans saw his championship hopes suffer a significant blow on the opening stage when he hit a rock and punctured a tyre. A turbo failure, similar to Ogier’s, on Friday dropped the Welshman almost 10 minutes adrift. Evans clipped a rut in stage 11 which resulted in a slow roll which ended his day prematurely.

Evans rejoined the rally on Sunday to salvage eight points after finishing third on both the Power Stage and in the Sunday rankings.

His Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta ran as high as second after winning stage two before an impact on stage three resulted in the Japanese driver retiring on Friday. Katsuta rejoined on Saturday but spun and picked up a puncture on the final stage.

It proved to be a difficult weekend for M-Sport-Ford that began in promising fashion as Adrien Fourmaux reached Friday midday service trailing then leader Ogier by 5.9s. However, the Frenchman hit a small rock on stage four breaking his Puma’s steering and he was unable to successfully make repairs.

Fourmaux left Greece with 11 points after winning the Power Stage and finished second in the Sunday standings.

Stablemate Gregoire Munster produced arguably his best showing of the season to sit fifth, before he ran into a ditch on stage nine and damaged his Puma’s roll cage.