Acropolis Rally – Day One
Hyundai Motorsport has returned to the punishing roads of the Acropolis Rally, round ten of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), with its eyes set on another competitive result following back-to-back victories in Finland and Ypres.
On an opening day where road order has played a significant role on dusty gravel roads, the three Hyundai i20 N Rally1 crews attacked all six stages to end Friday’s itinerary in fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively.
Hyundai Motorsport began the rally in positive form during Thursday evening’s super special at the Olympic Park with a clean sweep of the top four positions. WRC crew Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe claimed the stage win, with returning crew Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera in third. Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja took fourth while WRC2 hopefuls Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula stole second spot in their Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
Friday’s itinerary offered the first complete day of action in Greece with five different stages to discover. The schedule started early with Loutraki (SS2/SS4, 17.95km) and Harvati (SS3, 14.42km). Loutraki was the only repeated test of the day, with crews moving onto Dafni (SS5, 13.99km), Livadia (SS6, 21.03km) and Bauxites (SS7, 22.97km).
There was no opportunity for midday service, adding to Friday’s challenge, while the final two runs of the afternoon represented the longest stages of the day. Those earlier on the road order – including Tänak (second) and Neuville (fourth) - were at a comparative disadvantage to the later runners, who were typically able to benefit from cleaner lines and improved road conditions.
Neuville set the second fastest time in Harvati and remained on the heels of the podium contenders, to take fourth overall, 7.3 seconds from third. Sordo, in his first WRC event since Sardinia, finished Friday in a provisional fifth spot. Tänak, meanwhile, running without hybrid power for much of the day, claimed sixth. The Estonian pushed hard in the final stage to gain a position on the classification – and crucially for Saturday’s starting order.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Hyundai Motorsport began the rally in positive form during Thursday evening’s super special at the Olympic Park with a clean sweep of the top four positions. WRC crew Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe claimed the stage win, with returning crew Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera in third. Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja took fourth while WRC2 hopefuls Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula stole second spot in their Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
Friday’s itinerary offered the first complete day of action in Greece with five different stages to discover. The schedule started early with Loutraki (SS2/SS4, 17.95km) and Harvati (SS3, 14.42km). Loutraki was the only repeated test of the day, with crews moving onto Dafni (SS5, 13.99km), Livadia (SS6, 21.03km) and Bauxites (SS7, 22.97km).
There was no opportunity for midday service, adding to Friday’s challenge, while the final two runs of the afternoon represented the longest stages of the day. Those earlier on the road order – including Tänak (second) and Neuville (fourth) - were at a comparative disadvantage to the later runners, who were typically able to benefit from cleaner lines and improved road conditions.
Neuville set the second fastest time in Harvati and remained on the heels of the podium contenders, to take fourth overall, 7.3 seconds from third. Sordo, in his first WRC event since Sardinia, finished Friday in a provisional fifth spot. Tänak, meanwhile, running without hybrid power for much of the day, claimed sixth. The Estonian pushed hard in the final stage to gain a position on the classification – and crucially for Saturday’s starting order.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Stage win on Thursday evening for the Belgian crew leading a Hyundai 1-2-3-4
- Neuville remains just 16s from the outright lead with almost 150km of stages on Saturday
Neuville said: “It’s been a tough day, but at the end we found a good rhythm with the car and felt comfortable. We were able to do all we could with the road position we had. There was a lot of dust this morning, but once we were given four-minute gaps, we had a clean run through in more equal conditions. Every stage in this event is like a different rally, so it’s hard to find a car that works everywhere. To finish just 16 seconds off the lead, mainly behind some of our competitors that were further back on the road order, shows it was a decent effort. The total mileage for tomorrow means it will be a long day, and it will be hard to predict tyre choice and strategy – but we want to stay in the fight for victory.”
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- First WRC event for the Spaniards since Rally Italia Sardegna
- Trouble-free run to fifth place, ending Friday with a second-fastest stage time
Sordo said: “I have found things a bit difficult with the grip levels on this opening day. The conditions were changing a lot and it was demanding in some places. I was not totally comfortable in the car, and we didn’t want to make any mistakes. It was important to get to the end of the day, which we achieved. We wanted to be faster, but we struggled with the pace notes, and I lacked confidence in the narrow, slippery corners. The plan is to continue trying to find more speed and to improve our times. If we can fight for the podium, then I think that would be good.”
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Estonians carried a hybrid issue since the start of SS4
- Feisty performance on the Bauxites stage saw them move up to sixth overall
Tänak said: “The morning was not so bad; the tyres were working quite well, and we were definitely doing the best we could out of our road position. Before the third stage (SS4) we lost the hybrid which affected the driveability. We were unable to get it back, so it became trickier to manage in the demanding conditions, which were quite extreme being second on the road. Tomorrow, our starting position will be better so the fight will be fairer, and we hope to catch back some time and positions; we will try to put some pressure on those ahead of us and see what happens.”
Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: “Firstly, what a brilliant start to the rally for Hyundai yesterday in the incredible atmosphere of the packed Olympic Stadium in Athens. A perfect 1-2-3-4 for the Hyundai cars with a solid performance from Teemu to bring his Rally2 car to second position, as well as with Thierry winning the stage. Today’s pace was mostly defined by the road position, cleaning, and dust. The target was to get through the day trouble-free with all three WRC cars, which was mostly achieved. Thierry had steady pace and managed to keep a good rhythm ahead of the competitors behind him who had benefited from a better road condition, to hold fourth position overall. Dani was missing some confidence with the car but kept in touch with his nearest rivals and brought the car to the end of the day with no problems. Ott, on a more aggressive tyre strategy - and despite not having hybrid support for most of the day - pushed hard, especially in the last stage, to obtain the best possible road position for tomorrow. With reverse starting order on Saturday, the cards will be reshuffled and there is no doubt that we will push to improve our classification.”
Saturday at a glance
- A repeated loop of three stages will face teams on Saturday covering a total competitive distance of 147.98km
- The longest stage of the rally gets things underway - the 33.20km Pyrgos test. That will be followed by Perivoli at just over half that distance, 17.42km
- The loop concludes with the famous Tarzan stage, 23.37km of technically demanding roads that will put car and crew to the ultimate test
- In contrast to Friday, there will be a midday service in Lamia before the challenging loop is tackled once more.
Classification after Day One
| 1 | S. Loeb | I. Galmiche | Ford Puma Rally1 | 1:12:11.9 |
| 2 | P. L. Loubet | V. Landais | Ford Puma Rally1 | +1.7 |
| 3 | E. Lappi | J. Ferm | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +8.7 |
| 4 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +16.0 |
| 5 | D. Sordo | C. Carrera | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +22.2 |
| 6 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +31.1 |
| 7 | G. Greensmith | J. Andersson | Ford Puma Rally1 | +33.9 |
| 8 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +34.5 |
| 9 | K. Rovanperä | J. Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:07.8 |
| 10 | T. Katsuta | A. Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:38.9 |
| 11 | C. Breen | P. Nagle | Ford Puma Rally1 | +2:15.3 |
