Acropolis Rally – Day Two
Hyundai Motorsport has dominated the penultimate day of the Acropolis Rally, round ten of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) taking a clean sweep of stage wins and provisionally filling all three podium places with its Hyundai i20 N Rally1 crews.
Photo:Hyundaimotorsport
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe fought their way into the lead of the rally with an exceptional Saturday which saw them take a trio of stage wins. The Belgians hold a 27.9-second advantage over their Estonian team-mates Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, who topped and tailed today’s running with fastest times. Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera, in their first WRC event since Rally Italia Sardegna, made it a Hyundai 1-2-3 heading into the final day.
Saturday’s itinerary began with the longest individual stage of the rally, Pyrgos (SS8/SS11, 33.20km), which delivered plenty of excitement from the outset. Tänak secured his first stage win of the weekend with an emphatic performance on one of the season’s lengthiest tests.
The loop moved onto Perivoli (SS9/SS12) where overnight front-runners Sébastien Loeb and Pierre-Louis Loubet both hit trouble. Neuville, meanwhile, delivered a masterclass to claim the fastest time by 8.2s from his Estonian colleague in second – a Hyundai Motorsport 1-2 – to take the rally lead. The Belgian then swung to the top spot in Tarzan (SS10/SS13, 23.37km) to extend his advantage to 31 seconds.
Lunchtime service allowed the team the opportunity to explore a differential issue that had been plaguing Tänak since SS9, and to prepare for the second loop in extremely hot conditions. More stage wins followed with Sordo ensuring all crews took fastest time honours this weekend, topping SS12 to move into third place overall.
On one of its most confident days of the 2022 season so far, Hyundai Motorsport will now focus on claiming its third consecutive victory of the year but knowing that the Acropolis Rally is far from over.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Belgian crew scored three stage wins on Saturday, their fourth of the weekend
The duo leads the rally by a margin of 27.9 seconds
Neuville said: “We have had a strong day and it’s fantastic to see the Hyundai 1-2-3. Our target was to continue on the rhythm we had yesterday. I actually felt better in the morning after a few changes, and I was able to go a bit faster despite carrying two spare wheels. We set some good times and could take – and then extend – the lead. The speed was also there this afternoon, but we had a few things to manage. I was too hard on the tyres in the first stage of the second loop, and we had some technical trouble in the car that turned out not to be a huge issue, but still left me a bit worried. Our objective for the final day is to bring all three cars home on the podium; that would be an incredible result, but we have to stay focused.”
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) From sixth place overnight, the Estonians moved up to second
Crew secured two impressive stage wins at the start and end of the day
Tänak said: “We have had incredibly high temperatures inside the car today, almost like a sauna, and we’ve been struggling with the heat. We had to try and cool down all the electrical components and other stuff in the car, and it’s also taken its toll on us as a crew as well. Overall, for the team to be 1-2-3 is extremely good. Others have had trouble and we’ve seen some retirements. I have been frustrated at times as I would have liked to have had the car to fight for the win, but we’ve had some issues slowing us down. That said, we’ve been able to keep the car going, which is also thanks to the team who have done a top job.”
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Spaniards made it a Hyundai 1-2-3 with a quiet but assured day on the Greek gravel
Stage win in SS12 helped team to a clean sweep of fastest times on Saturday
Sordo said: “It’s so nice to see all three Hyundai crews in 1-2-3 formation at the top of the timesheets. It’s a great feeling and motivation for the team, even if we know there are three final stages to come tomorrow. The cars have been working quite well in this rally. I have found a better feeling with some changes, and on the second loop we had a bit more grip in general. It wasn’t completely perfect; I had some hybrid trouble and we also needed to be careful with the tyres. I absolutely didn’t want to make any mistakes in the final stage. It’s not been an easy day, but we are in good shape, and have to concentrate on securing these positions tomorrow.”
Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: “What a day! The Acropolis Rally has proven once again to be one of the toughest on the WRC calendar. Our Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars have been put to the test in extreme conditions. Despite some temperature-related concerns with the electronics on all three cars, that were handled together with the team’s support, they made it to the finish with a tremendous 1-2-3 on the overall classification, winning all stages. We knew last night that we had an opportunity to target a positive result here but were not expecting such a day. Thierry had a good clean run in the morning, allowing him to claim first place, a position that he managed to keep over the day and building a substantial gap to those behind him. Ott, after an incredible opening stage, and after having some concerns with his driveline, climbed to a solid second position. Dani tried to stay as clean as possible and is fully committed in his role to support the team and to cover the position of his teammates. The target for tomorrow will be to secure this 1-2-3 podium, which would be a great achievement for Hyundai. But the rally is not over until it is over!”
Sunday at a glanceThree stages remain on the Acropolis Rally schedule: two runs of Eleftherohori (SS14/SS16, 16.90km) and a single pass through Elatia-Rengini (SS15, 11.26km)
Just 45.06 competitive kilometres are left to contest but with plenty of challenging gravel terrain to tackle.
Classification after Day Two
1 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:06:34.4
2 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +27.9
3 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +52.9
4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:00.0
5 P. L. Loubet V. Landais Ford Puma Rally1 +2:40.1
6 C. Breen P. Nagle Ford Puma Rally1 +3:47.2
7 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +4:41.2
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe fought their way into the lead of the rally with an exceptional Saturday which saw them take a trio of stage wins. The Belgians hold a 27.9-second advantage over their Estonian team-mates Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, who topped and tailed today’s running with fastest times. Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera, in their first WRC event since Rally Italia Sardegna, made it a Hyundai 1-2-3 heading into the final day.
Saturday’s itinerary began with the longest individual stage of the rally, Pyrgos (SS8/SS11, 33.20km), which delivered plenty of excitement from the outset. Tänak secured his first stage win of the weekend with an emphatic performance on one of the season’s lengthiest tests.
The loop moved onto Perivoli (SS9/SS12) where overnight front-runners Sébastien Loeb and Pierre-Louis Loubet both hit trouble. Neuville, meanwhile, delivered a masterclass to claim the fastest time by 8.2s from his Estonian colleague in second – a Hyundai Motorsport 1-2 – to take the rally lead. The Belgian then swung to the top spot in Tarzan (SS10/SS13, 23.37km) to extend his advantage to 31 seconds.
Lunchtime service allowed the team the opportunity to explore a differential issue that had been plaguing Tänak since SS9, and to prepare for the second loop in extremely hot conditions. More stage wins followed with Sordo ensuring all crews took fastest time honours this weekend, topping SS12 to move into third place overall.
On one of its most confident days of the 2022 season so far, Hyundai Motorsport will now focus on claiming its third consecutive victory of the year but knowing that the Acropolis Rally is far from over.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Belgian crew scored three stage wins on Saturday, their fourth of the weekend
The duo leads the rally by a margin of 27.9 seconds
Neuville said: “We have had a strong day and it’s fantastic to see the Hyundai 1-2-3. Our target was to continue on the rhythm we had yesterday. I actually felt better in the morning after a few changes, and I was able to go a bit faster despite carrying two spare wheels. We set some good times and could take – and then extend – the lead. The speed was also there this afternoon, but we had a few things to manage. I was too hard on the tyres in the first stage of the second loop, and we had some technical trouble in the car that turned out not to be a huge issue, but still left me a bit worried. Our objective for the final day is to bring all three cars home on the podium; that would be an incredible result, but we have to stay focused.”
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) From sixth place overnight, the Estonians moved up to second
Crew secured two impressive stage wins at the start and end of the day
Tänak said: “We have had incredibly high temperatures inside the car today, almost like a sauna, and we’ve been struggling with the heat. We had to try and cool down all the electrical components and other stuff in the car, and it’s also taken its toll on us as a crew as well. Overall, for the team to be 1-2-3 is extremely good. Others have had trouble and we’ve seen some retirements. I have been frustrated at times as I would have liked to have had the car to fight for the win, but we’ve had some issues slowing us down. That said, we’ve been able to keep the car going, which is also thanks to the team who have done a top job.”
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) Spaniards made it a Hyundai 1-2-3 with a quiet but assured day on the Greek gravel
Stage win in SS12 helped team to a clean sweep of fastest times on Saturday
Sordo said: “It’s so nice to see all three Hyundai crews in 1-2-3 formation at the top of the timesheets. It’s a great feeling and motivation for the team, even if we know there are three final stages to come tomorrow. The cars have been working quite well in this rally. I have found a better feeling with some changes, and on the second loop we had a bit more grip in general. It wasn’t completely perfect; I had some hybrid trouble and we also needed to be careful with the tyres. I absolutely didn’t want to make any mistakes in the final stage. It’s not been an easy day, but we are in good shape, and have to concentrate on securing these positions tomorrow.”
Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: “What a day! The Acropolis Rally has proven once again to be one of the toughest on the WRC calendar. Our Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars have been put to the test in extreme conditions. Despite some temperature-related concerns with the electronics on all three cars, that were handled together with the team’s support, they made it to the finish with a tremendous 1-2-3 on the overall classification, winning all stages. We knew last night that we had an opportunity to target a positive result here but were not expecting such a day. Thierry had a good clean run in the morning, allowing him to claim first place, a position that he managed to keep over the day and building a substantial gap to those behind him. Ott, after an incredible opening stage, and after having some concerns with his driveline, climbed to a solid second position. Dani tried to stay as clean as possible and is fully committed in his role to support the team and to cover the position of his teammates. The target for tomorrow will be to secure this 1-2-3 podium, which would be a great achievement for Hyundai. But the rally is not over until it is over!”
Sunday at a glanceThree stages remain on the Acropolis Rally schedule: two runs of Eleftherohori (SS14/SS16, 16.90km) and a single pass through Elatia-Rengini (SS15, 11.26km)
Just 45.06 competitive kilometres are left to contest but with plenty of challenging gravel terrain to tackle.
Classification after Day Two
1 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:06:34.4
2 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +27.9
3 D. Sordo C. Carrera Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +52.9
4 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1:00.0
5 P. L. Loubet V. Landais Ford Puma Rally1 +2:40.1
6 C. Breen P. Nagle Ford Puma Rally1 +3:47.2
7 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +4:41.2
