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Hyundai yet to make a decision on WRC long-time future

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


A decision surrounding Hyundai’s future in the World Rally Championship beyond 2025 is yet to be made, insists team principal Cyril Abiteboul.

Confirmation that lead driver Thierry Neuville has signed a new one-year contract for 2025 has fuelled speculation that the Korean brand is potentially heading for an exit from its works WRC programme in 2026.

Hyundai is understood to be gearing up for a move into the World Endurance Championship for 2026 which has cast doubt over its long-term future in the WRC. This has prompted discussion that the brand could leave the WRC completely or remain involved in the category with its rally operation outsourced to a private team for the final year of the current Rally1 rule set.

Abiteboul has so far avoided committing Hyundai to a factory WRC programme in 2026 when questioned by Motorsport.com. The former Renault Formula 1 boss has outlined that Neuville’s contract news doesn’t necessarily mean it is a one-year deal and that a decision on the car maker’s WRC future is yet to be finalised.

Neuville also eluded to the fact that his new deal could be longer than 2025 but also stated that the future of the Hyundai WRC team beyond 2025 is yet to be finalised.

“2025 is what we can confirm now. It doesn’t mean that it’s not a part of a longer-term contract [for Thierry], but 2025 is what we can write about,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

Watch: EKO Acropolis Rally Greece Saturday Morning Highlights

“The reality, first, is it is a longer-term contract with Thierry that has an option mechanism and the reality is that we also need to understand where we are going.

“A few months ago we [the WRC] were going for no hybrid Rally1 minus, Rally2 plus and now we don’t really know a number of things for next year. We talk about next year introducing cost-cutting measures about change to some of the sporting regulations to some of the weekend format is any of that coming?

“Right now we are in the sport and committed to winning the sport and we are exploiting the [homologation] joker capability in the best possible way [to improve the i20 N Rally1 car for 2025] and if we do that frankly we would not want to do that for one year.

“Our goal is to be here for many years and we have a contract with Thierry that caters to that but what we can confirm right here, right now is this partnership being extended between Hyundai and Thierry for 2025.

He added: “The decision [surrounding Hyundai’s WRC future in 2026] is not made and we will talk about 2026 in due time. It is not the time now, now is the time to focus on 2024 and 2025, and we need a number of things for our plans to be formalised for 2026.”

There have been suggestions that Hyundai would not want to continue running the i20 N in 2026 given the road car has been discontinued. Abiteboul says this would only be factor for the manufacturer in 2027 when the WRC proposes its new Rally1 regulations.

“It will become a factor for 2027 we know the i20 N is already discontinued so we could have stopped at the end of this year,” he added.

“For 2027, for sure we need to know first the direction of the sport and also what that means for our own internal strategy in terms of product.

«It is too early to talk about this thing, but it is going in the right direction in relation to that. I don’t have a mandate to talk about the product of Hyundai but that is also one of the reasons why we cannot make a statement about the future because we need to be clear about our own product, but it is not a factor for 2026.”



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Sordo extends lead over Neuville

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai’s Dani Sordo increased his lead over his World Rally Championship team-mate Thierry Neuville to close out a dramatic Saturday morning at the Acropolis Rally.

Sordo, competing in a part-time campaign, inherited the rally lead when his Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak lost time following two tyre failures on stage seven.

The Spaniard drove smartly through the two tricky gravel stages to open up a 10.3s advantage over championship leader Neuville.

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier climbed to third [+1m41.2s] with Tanak falling to fourth [+3m35.1s] after his tyre woes. M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster leapt from seventh to fifth [+4m01.1s] in front of top WRC2 runners Sami Pajari and Robert Virves.

M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta rejoined the rally after their respective retirements on Friday.

Tanak generated the major headline from the morning stages when the rally leader suffered a double puncture in stage seven (Rengini, 28.67km).

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He had started Saturday with a 21.8s margin over Sordo before a right rear puncture halted his progress five kilometres into the stage. The Estonian pulled to the side of the road to change the wheel.

Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja only lost 1m21.6s, but the rally lead had evaporated.

To make matters worse, a second puncture arrived 10 kilometres later, this time, the front right. Tanak eventually reached the stage end losing 4m06.4s dropping him from the lead to fourth overall.

Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport

“The first one was off the rim and the second one was a bent rim,” said Tanak, who was the only driver from the five title contenders to avoid trouble on Friday.

Tanak’s double puncture handed Sordo the rally lead by 7.2s from team-mate and championship leader Thierry Neuville.

Neuville won the stage by 0.2s from Ogier, who moved to third following Tanak’s problems.

The rocky and abrasive conditions were replaced by a sandy road surface to add another challenge for the crews to tackle in stage eight (Thiva, 20.95km),

The soft road surface made rotating the car difficult with Fourmaux and Ogier both comparing the stage to like “driving on a beach”.

Tyre strategies differed among the crews but it was Ogier, who opted for a hard and soft mix, that won the stage by 7.4s from the hard tyre shod Sordo.

“It is not fun to drive this stage, it is like driving on the beach. Full of sand everywhere, I’m fighting to turn the car everywhere,» said Ogier.

Sordo’s effort was 3.1s faster than Neuville, who was also running four hard compound tyres. He completed the run after bumping his head while making changes to his i20 N that required a plaster to be fitted above his right eye.

“I was working on the car before and I hit my head,” said Sordo.

“I was thinking in case I need to change the wheel during the stage, I couldn’t put the jack in. I was playing a little bit and [then there was a] bump.”

Neuville conceded that he had opted for more cautious tyre strategy and explained: 

“We are on full hards, we took a safer choice this morning. I’m trying to enjoy the car more than yesterday, we changed the setup and it is much better,” said Neuville.

The crews will tackle three more stages this afternoon before a super special stage near Athens tonight.



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Sordo leads after Tanak suffers double puncture

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai’s Dani Sordo moved into the lead of the Acropolis Rally after World Rally Championship title contender Ott Tanak suffered a double puncture in stage seven.

Tanak started Saturday with a 21.8s margin over Sordo before drama struck twice in the day’s opening stage, Rengini, 28.67km.

The 2019 world champion suffered a right rear puncture five kilometres into the stage which resulted in the Estonian pulling to the side of the road to change the wheel. Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja only lost 1m21.6s, but the rally lead had evaporated.

To make matters worse, a second puncture arrived 10 kilometres later, this time, the front right. Tanak eventually reached the stage end losing 4m06.4s dropping him from the lead to fourth overall.

“The first one was off the rim and the second one was a bent rim,” said Tanak, who was the only driver from the five title contenders to avoid trouble on Friday.

Tanak will now have to nurse his tyres through two more stages to reach a midday tyre fitting zone as Saturday’s schedule doesn’t include a service.

Tanak’s double puncture handed Sordo the rally lead by 7.2s from team-mate and championship leader Thierry Neuville.

“It’s nice to be rally leader, but I don’t like this kind of thing,” said Sordo.

“We need to win the stages not because the others have problems. I didn’t take any risks, I will continue with my target. [Neuville] and the others can push, I have one mission. Of course it would be nice to win.”

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

Neuville won the stage by 0.2s from Ogier, who moved to third following Tanak’s problems.

“We had a clean run through, was quite rough in the middle section so I took it a bit careful. Completely different conditions to yesterday, we also changed the car set up so I feel better with the car.

When asked if he had a response to Ogier’s comments on Friday about his driving ability when opening the road, he said “No comment”.

In WRC2, Sami Pajari took the class lead from Robert Virves, who faced the disadvantage of being caught up in the hanging dust created by the delayed Tanak.

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Neuville should «stop crying» and learn how to open the road

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastian Ogier says World Rally Championship leader Thierry Neuville should “stop crying” and “learn driving first on the road” following an eventful opening day at the Acropolis Rally.

Ogier’s comments aimed at the Hyundai driver arrived after the eight-time world champion won three of the day’s six stages, starting second on the road, behind Neuville, having now emerged as the Belgian’s main title rival, just 27 points adrift.

Competing in a partial campaign this season, Ogier will now contest the remaining rounds of the season to boost Toyota’s manufacturers’ title hopes, and in the process challenge for a ninth drivers’ crown.

The Toyota’s driver pace on Greece’s rough gravel roads put him into the lead of the rally at midday service over M-Sport-Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux with Neuville in fifth after the latter’s i20 N Rally’s engine was reduced to three cylinders.

It cost him valuable time but Fourmaux’s demise after stage four handed the Frenchman an 11.7s advantage over Hyundai’s Ott Tanak.

Ogier appeared on course to end Friday with the rally lead before his GR Yaris suffered a similar turbo failure that befell his team-mate, Elfyn Evans, on the opening stage.

As a result, Ogier dropped to fourth overall, 2m26.4s from the leader Tanak and 1m41.2s behind Neuville.

Ogier has in the past been vocal about the disadvantages of opening the road, but this season it is long-time points leader Neuville who re-ignited the debate in Latvia having led the championship since the opening round in Monte Carlo.

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

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

Photo by: Toyota Racing

When asked about the turbo issue suffered by Evans and if the team had though to change the component on his car at midday service, Ogier offered some strong words towards his title rival.

«From my side I didn’t know [about Elfyn’s turbo issue] I just drove my race normally and was feeling quite good in the car until this moment and we did the best job we could,» said Ogier.

«We proved that the championship leader is not that fast honestly because he was first on the road and we were second on the road and we took 45 seconds in four stages, maybe he should stop crying and learn driving first on the road.”

Toyota is yet to understand the cause of Ogier’s turbo problem but it could be similar to the issue suffered by Evans, who was forced to complete the final section of the opening stage and the following two morning tests in road mode. The Welshman, who also picked up a puncture in stage one, lost almost 10 minutes altogether.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“With Elfyn we know what is the root cause but with Seb at the moment we are assuming it is something similar, but until we get the parts we can’t say for sure. It looks like an issue with the turbo charger,” said Toyota technical director Tom Fowler.

“It’s a huge disappointment because clearly it is a rally after Finland where we have a really strong performance in the car, and in Finland we didn’t capitalise on that, and it looks like here we are not going to capitalise on the potential performance both the car and the drivers have.”

Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala is unsure if the failure is down to a faulty batch of components, but did reveal that the team were unable to change the turbo on Ogier’s car as a precaution at midday service as delays to the opening stages caused by accidents.

“This morning we were able to change the turbo for Elfyn Evans but we couldn’t change for Seb because of the time limit,” said Latvala.

“We were supposed to have a flexi service but because the stage was delayed on SS1 and SS2 it meant the organisers had to cut the flexi service away.

«Instead of having 12 mechanics working on one car we had six guys working for one car and we had other things to change. We had time for Elfyn but we didn’t have time for Seb and then it broke down.

“Of course Hyundai is in a strong position [1-2-3] going into Saturday, we need to stay patient because things can happen. If we have problems they may have problems you never know. But with this heat and this roughness it is asking a lot from the car.”

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Ogier power issue hands Tanak healthy lead

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


A power issue for Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier handed Hyundai’s Ott Tanak the Acropolis Rally advantage as drama struck four of the five World Rally Championship title contenders.

Tanak was the only championship challenger to avoid problems to end an attritional Friday on Greece’s rough gravel roads with a 21.8s lead over team-mate Dani Sordo. 

Ogier had led the rally by 5.9s at the midday service and won three of the day’s six stages, but a turbo issue with his Toyota GR Yaris ahead of the final test dropped the Frenchman to fourth [+2m26.4s].  

Championship leader and road opener Thierry Neuville completed a 1-2-3 for Hyundai, recovering to third [+45.2s] after his i20 N was reduced to three cylinders across the morning. 

M-Sport-Ford’s Gregoire Munster appeared to be on course to finish the day in fourth before a double puncture in stage six dropped him to seventh [+4m08.4s], behind leading WRC2 runners Robert Virves and Sami Pajari. 

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta challenged for the rally lead on Friday morning after winning stage two before an impact on stage three resulted in the Japanese losing a wheel and retiring from the day.

The incident added to a difficult day for Toyota after title contender Elfyn Evans suffered a puncture on the opening stage and a turbo issue. The Welshman completed the afternoon with a repaired GR Yaris but ended the loop outside the points-paying positions, 9m55 adrift.  

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

The Acropolis Rally’s infamous rocky roads generated headlines at the start of Friday afternoon when Adrien Fourmaux endured a costly run-in with a rock.

The M-Sport-Ford driver had navigated through Friday morning’s rough gravel stages to trail rally leader Ogier by 5.9s.

Fourmaux’s morning loop times were even more impressive considering he lost time to the hanging dust from Elfyn Evans’ wounded Toyota GR Yaris, and completed the trio of stages without hybrid power.

However, at the start of stage four, the second pass through Ano Pavliani, the Frenchman, sitting fifth in the championship standings, clipped a rock and broke the steering on his Ford Puma.

Ogier was able to continue the speed that put him into a 5.9s lead at midday service after setting the pace on stage four by 1.9s from Tanak, who moved into second following Fourmaux’s demise.

Hyundai’s Sordo, running with a hybrid issue, inherited third overall from Neuville, now driving a repaired i20 N Rally1 that had dropped to three cylinders across the morning loop. M-Sport-Ford’s Gregoire Munster climbed to fifth while demonstrating pace to clock the fourth-fastest time on the stage. 

The battle at the front took another twist in stage five [Dafni, 21.67km] when Ogier suffered a mysterious issue with his GR Yaris. The rally leader been running strongly before, dropping time in the final split of the 21.67km Dafni test and ceding 16.7s to Tanak

Ogier reported that he needed to “check something” on his car at the stage end, but the time loss handed Tanak the rally lead, despite the Estonian feeling car balance tweaks had gone in the wrong direction.

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

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

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Tanak claimed the stage by 4.5s from Sordo with Munster third, the Luxembourger clearly enjoying the confidence found behind the wheel of his Puma following changes at midday service.

In contrasting circumstances, Neuville was fighting his i20 N in stage five while Evans was finding his feet in his GR Yaris to post a time 10.1s slower than Tanak.

Ogier stopped twice on the road section to attempt a repair on a suspected turbo-rated issue but was unable to find a solution. That meant the Frenchman was forced to complete stage six [Tarzan] in road mode, which cost him more than two minutes.

“There was not much we could do: the turbo is broken. That is motorsport sometimes,” said Ogier.   

Evans also shipped a further 45.8s in the final stage managing a small issue. The drama continued as Munster suffered a front puncture and rear tyre delimitation in two separate incidents.

Neuville took the final stage win of the day to move to third overall behind team-mates Tanak and Sordo.  

Six stages totalling 135.02 competitive kilometres await the crews on Saturday. 



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Tanak regains lead from Ogier, Fourmaux retires

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai’s Ott Tanak has regained the Acropolis Rally lead while Adrien Fourmaux’s pursuit of a maiden World Rally Championship victory has come to a halt.

Tanak moved into a five-second rally lead when he took advantage of a mysterious issue for rally leader Sebastien Ogier’s Toyota GR Yaris on stage five.

Ogier had been running strongly before dropping time in the final split of the 21.67km Dafni test.

The eight-time world champion reported at the stage end that there was an issue with his GR Yaris after dropping 16.7s to stage winner Tanak.

“We have to check something,” said Ogier, who had won the previous stage four to extend his advantage over Tanak to 11.7s.

Tanak had been elevated to second overall heading into stage five after Fourmaux’s exit on the previous test, Ano Pavliani.

The M-Sport-Ford driver had navigated through Friday morning’s rough gravel stages to trail rally leader Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier by 5.9s.

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

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

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Fourmaux’s morning loop times were made even more impressive considering he lost time to the hanging dust from Elfyn Evans’ wounded Toyota GR Yaris, and completed the trio of stages without hybrid power.

However, at the start of stage four, the second pass through Ano Pavliani, the Frenchman clipped a rock and broke the steering on his Ford Puma.

Fourmaux, sitting fifth in the championship standings, pulled over in the stage to attempt a fix as he witnessed his hopes of a fifth podium evaporate.

“We have got all the parts. I don’t know, there was nothing in my pace notes and there was a rock on the inside and I touched it and it broke the steering arm and the compression strut,” said Fourmaux.

“I was like, ‘OK we can fix it and continue,’ but I cannot get the bolts out, it is too tight, I don’t know what to do now.”

Hyundai’s Dani Sordo climbed to third, 22.5s, behind rally leader Tanak ahead of the final stage of the loop later this evening.

Championship leader Thierry Neuville completed the two stages in fourth overall, now equipped with a fully functioning i20 N after being reduced to three cylinders across the morning loop.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“The car was working a lot better, thank you to the team for fixing it,” said Neuville.

Toyota managed to fix a turbocharger problem during midday service on Evans’ GR Yaris that hampered the Welshman this morning. Evans remained outside of the points-paying positions, 9m11.1s adrift.

“Everything is fixed we are just experimenting with a few things now,” said Evans.

The top five was rounded out by M-Sport-Ford’s Gregoire Munster.



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Ogier snatches lead as Neuville, Evans suffer power issues

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastien Ogier moved into the lead of the Acropolis Rally after an eventful opening loop where power issues struck his World Rally Championship title rivals Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans.

A blistering effort on the final stage of a particularly arduous gravel loop helped Toyota driver Ogier regain the rally lead he held after winning the opening stage, to head to service with a 5.9s advantage.

M-Sport Ford’s Adrian Fourmaux emerged as Ogier’s nearest rival after the Frenchman climbed above Hyundai’s Ott Tanak [+9.8s], who had topped the timesheets after two stages.

Hyundai’s Dani Sordo completed the loop in fourth [+19.4s] ahead of championship-leading team-mate Neuville, hampered by an engine issue [+35.7s]. The top six was rounded out by M-Sport Gregoire Munster [+1m12.9s] after Toyota Takamoto Katsuta suffered a crash, while team-mate Evans [+8m57.3s] lost time to a puncture and a power problem. 

Crews predicted this year’s Acropolis Rally to be the roughest and most challenging in recent years and it didn’t take long for the tough gravel roads to bite.

Title contender Evans suffered a puncture 15 kilometres into the opening Ano Pavliani (22.47km) stage, which cost the Toyota driver more than two minutes as the Welshman appeared to reach the stage end with his GR Yaris suffering another issue. Evans was seen working under the bonnet of his car on the road section between stages.

Championship leader Neuville also endured a difficult start reporting that he felt his i20 N was running on three cylinders during the test, which required roadside repairs. The Belgian was also affected by cleaning the road and ended the stage 10.3s off the pace.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

The pace was set by Neuville’s nearest rival in the championship, Ogier. The Toyota driver took the stage win by 0.6s from Hyundai’s Tanak, while M-Sport’s Fourmaux was a further two tenths of a second back.

Ogier was however frustrated by the hanging dust he faced with crews split by three-minute gaps.

Katsuta also complained about the dust that affected the Japanese at the start of the stage before going on to set the fourth-fastest time, 2.7s adrift of Ogier and ahead of Sordo.

Munster dropped 21.6s in the stage but was also seen working on his Ford Puma that appeared to be suffering from a problem.

The test was later cancelled when former M-Sport driver Pierre-Louis Loubet crashed into a tree, which resulted in his Rally2 Skoda catching fire. Loubet and co-driver Loris Pascaud were okay following the impact.

Organisers increased the time gaps between the leading Rally1 and Rally2 crews to four minutes for the delayed second stage, Dafni [21.67km].

Katsuta’s brave gamble to take only one spare tyre to save weight appeared to pay as the Japanese claimed the stage by 1.9s from Tanak.

Tanak had previously set the pace with an effort two seconds faster than Ogier to leap ahead of the Frenchman and into the rally lead. Katsuta’s effort put the Toyota driver into second overall, 0.2s behind Tanak.

Grateful for the four-minute gap, Ogier, affected by road cleaning, was third fastest ahead of Fourmaux and Sordo. Ogier trailed leader Tanak by 1.4s with Fourmaux only second behind Ogier.

The issues for Neuville and Evans continued with the former admitting he was “running on three cylinders for 50% of the stage at least”, while Evans fared much worse with his GR Yaris depleted of power.

“[It’s] not clear at the moment, we had no power, we don’t know what it is yet,” said Evans who dropped a further 3m18.7s.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Munster was also unable to resolve his gearbox issue on the road section before then suffering a handbrake problem in the stage.

Ogier delivered an impressive push to win the third and final stage of the loop [Tarzan, 23.37km] and snatch the rally lead from Tanak. The Frenchman took one more soft tyre in his six-tyre package compared to Tanak, who had all hard compound tyres on his car in the stage. As a result, he took 11.2s out of Tanak as the rally leader struggled with his car balance in the test.

Ogier’s impressive pace resulted in a stage win by 4.9s from Fourmaux, who hoped organisers would offer him time back after being caught in the dust of Evans, who continued to nurse his wounded GR Yaris through the stage.

However, there was drama behind as Katsuta ripped a wheel off his Toyota in the stage, dropping the Japanese driver out of second position, having stopped 6.9km into the stage.

The crews will repeat the three stage this afternoon to conclude Friday’s leg of the rally.



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Why Acropolis Rally will live up to ‘European Safari’ moniker

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Often referred to as the ‘European Safari’ given the incredibly tough conditions, this weekend’s World Rally Championship Acropolis Rally is likely to be even harder than its African counterpart.

WRC drivers are set to face possibly the roughest Acropolis Rally in recent memory thanks to series of contributing factors that has resulted in much rougher stage conditions.

The Greek round of the WRC is renowned for being one of its toughest but some of this weekend’s field believe the rally will be more challenging than Kenya’s Safari Rally, regarded as the WRC’s toughest event.

Long periods of dry hot weather have made it difficult for organisers to repair and prepare the gravel roads before hosting round 10 of the 2024 season. As a result, the stages are much rougher with more loose rocks and bedrock for competitors to navigate through in searing heat.

The road conditions have significantly increased the risk of punctures and damage to cars. It’s a stark contrast to last year’s event that was plagued by Storm Daniel that forced organisers to cancel shakedown due to flooding.

“We haven’t seen a Rally Acropolis this rough for many years. I think in 2009, this rally was extremely rough and there was many retirements, so it will be something like this,” said Toyota team principal Jari- Matti Latvala.

“The past years has been quite smooth, but now it hasn’t rained so the organisers haven’t been able to really repair the roads because you need the rain to, push the material into the ground and they were not able to do that.

Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“So now it’s a matter of tactics. You try to be smart with your driving. It’s not about having an attack all the time. The strategy of the drivers is going to be in a key element.”

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier believes the stages are even rougher than those on Safari Rally Kenya, admitting that he struggled to pick a safe line through the rocks on the pre-event recce.

“I think it is [rougher than Kenya] because there are some sections where it’s just full of rocks everywhere so there is not much you can do,” Ogier told Motorsport.com.

“It’s very hard to pick a strategy to avoid them, there is no chance to avoid them.

“When in Kenya I felt that you can manage your risk by the line you take and everything, here there are sections full of rocks and you feel powerless in this situation. In some places on the recce I just stopped and I watched, I just didn’t know where to pass through the road. I didn’t know what is the best [option].”

Championship leader Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who holds a 27-point advantage over Ogier, conceded that he will take a different approach considering his title aspirations.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“You always have those three or four guys who go for it and definitely one will get through like always, maybe two, and then there’s only one spot of the podium left,” Neuville told Motorsport.com.

“For us, the approach will be different. We will keep an eye on our championship rivals.

“We don’t know what their approach is and Ogier probably has less to lose but still, I think he’s also involved in the fight for the manufacturer championship. I think on a rally like this, Ogier has generally a clever approach and we will try to find a good balance. Some other drivers might go for it.

“For the risk and for the lottery, it is tougher than Safari. At the Safari Rally you have dips but you brake, you go through, and you carry on. But here you will find a lot of things on the road, which you haven’t seen before, and that’s it.”

Is the Acropolis Rally verging on being too rough?

While the Acropolis Rally has a storied history for being Europe’s toughest rally, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener says organisers must be wary not to make the event too difficult.

“The FIA has been pushing for this event to be as rough as it has been for a few years, so let’s see what happens. I’m on the fence with it,” said Millener.

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

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

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“I think, yes, there’s an element of endurance to this, but I just hate losing cars, and the minute you lose cars, even if you can repair broken suspension and things like that, your battles are gone. I don’t like events that end up with big gaps between the cars and OK, there’s still the Sunday points to fight for which takes some of that away.

“I think we also just have to be careful we don’t make it rough to test out the Rally1 cars we also have the Rally2 and Rally3 cars.”



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Ogier commits to remaining WRC rounds to boost Toyota’s title hopes

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastien Ogier has confirmed plans to contest the remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship to help Toyota challenge for both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns.

The eight-time world champion was set to contest a half-season campaign in his role as part-time driver, but his impressive run of three wins and three second-place finishes have proved crucial for Toyota’s manufacturers’ title push.

Ogier’s success has also left the Frenchman as Toyota’s highest-placed driver in the championship and firmly in the fight for a ninth crown, only 27 points adrift of championship leader  and Hyundai rival Thierry Neuville.

Earlier this week, Rally Chile, which follows this weekend’s round in Greece, released its entry list that featured Ogier and his part-time Toyota team-mate and reigning two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera.

Watch: EKO Acropolis Rally Greece Shakedown highlights

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala had already asked Ogier to compete in the remaining rounds earlier this year. Despite initially appearing to downplay the prospect after Rally Finland, Ogier will now add Chile and the Central European Rally to his programme that already included November’s Japan season finale. 

“I think now it’s clear. It’s four rounds remaining and the position we are in the championship we had to give it a try, being also now the leading driver for Toyota,” Ogier told Motorsport.com. 

“Of course, there was a bigger wish from the team for me to be there and on my side two out of this four [rallies] were planned already, and we just had to add Chile and Central Europe. 

“Even if I’m not looking so much for the travel to Chile [because of the distance to Europe], I cannot complain to be in this situation. 

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

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

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“It’s still always tempting to have a chance to fight for a championship, even though right now it’s still a long shot. It’s still with the current point system, not so easy to catch this kind of gap, but the best we can do is try to put pressure as late as we can in the season. 

“As long as there is a mathematical chance, anything can happen.”

Toyota boss Latvala says the outcome is both “good for Sebastien personally and for the team”, while admitting securing the manufacturers’ title is the primary goal. Toyota sits 20 points adrift of Hyundai heading into this weekend despite winning six of the nine rallies to date.

“We discussed that if he does Latvia and it goes well why not do the rest of the championship because he’s been a very strong asset for us this year,” said Latvala. 

“We want to keep the championship fight alive.” 

Championship leader Neuville, who announced a one-year extension with Hyundai for 2025 before today’s Acropolis Rally Greece shakedown, expects Ogier to be his strongest rival for the rest of the season.

“It will be someone else to fight for the championship and if you’re going to win then it is even better,” said Neuville.  

“He will always have an excuse because he didn’t do all the other rounds, but he chose very well which ones he didn’t do. 

“He has done very well benefiting from his road position but now it will be a bit different, but he is the man to fight. It is no secret he is the one who will be the strongest until the end of the year in the fight for the championship, and we need to resist.” 

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