Acropolis: Towards an overly demanding edition?

Le rally of the Acropolis is one of the historical displacements of the WRC. Registered on the calendar since 1973 when the brands championship was created, this meeting has experienced some absences (1974, 2010, 2019, 2020) and has also found itself in ERC between 2014 and 2018, but it has been back on the WRC programme since 2021. Through this "epic", it has earned its reputation as the most challenging event of the season. For a period, it was even called " European Safari " because of its length and its hardness. In 1985 for example, there were 47 SS and 807 km timed. Forced to conform to the new division and the reduction of mileage, the organizers also selected less demanding roads. This meeting remained one of the most complicated of the year, but in proportions far removed from what was done before... until this edition?

Once the reconnaissance was completed, the pilots made worrying comments about the nature of the terrain. The conditions are really not simple, has explained Sébastien Ogier. This is probably the most selective Acropolis we have experienced in recent years. These three days will undoubtedly be very difficult. "" The specials are very rough with stones everywhere., confirmed Thierry Neuville. It will be demanding for the cars and the tyres. Overall, the stages are narrower than in previous years, which will be a challenge for us. I expect the rally to be more demanding and more complicated than in 2023. "The comments of the Frenchman and the Belgian sum up the general trend of the plateau." The big difference this year is that the roads are dry., added Adrien fourmaux. It's also tighter and the new sections of this edition appear slower. It's definitely beyond Portugal and Sardinia. In some places, it's even harder than the Safari! "While all the Rally1 crews seem worried, those in WRC2 are already wondering what tactics will have to be applied to avoid trouble." It's a real Acropolis, commented Yohan Rossel. This is the first time I've ridden here on completely dry roads and it looks set to be complicated. "" It's more destroyed than other years, Nikolay Gryazin said. We will have to be careful with the tyres and we will have to stay focused on our speed while trying to protect the car. »

« I don't like it when it's too destroyed for cars, explains Richard Millener, the team manager of M-Sport. I know that the FIA ​​is pushing for it to become as tough a round as it was a few years ago, but if it means losing competitors, I don't see the point. I am aware that endurance is one of the parameters that must be taken into account and that we can repair the cars, but we should not go beyond a certain limit for Rally1, especially since we must consider that there are also Rally2 and Rally3. »

As is often the case, there are fine speeches in the prelude to the rally, then once the helmet is on the head, the good resolutions quickly fly away. All that remains is to wait and see who will dare to attack flat out and who will be skilled enough to drive fast while avoiding all the stones. There is also the solution of going to pray to one of the many Greek gods...