The Acropolis, hot in front

This year, the Rally of the Acropolis changes face. While it was based in Athens in recent years, the organizers wanted to return to routes which had not been used for several seasons. Now based in Loutraki, some 100 kilometers west of Athens, the service park is located very close to the Corinth Canal which separates mainland Greece from the Peloponnese.

The first day will see the 47 competitors take special stages along the Gulf of Corinth before reaching the north of the country, towards the cities of Delphi and Itea. The second day will be devoted to the exploration of the Peloponnese for the first time since 1991. If on the first day, the competitors will, with one exception, take the special stages only once, Saturday risks bringing its lot of surprises. The drivers will in fact pass twice on the three special stages on the program. Enough to encourage the appearance of obstacles on the track and increase the chances of hitting a stone.

Finally, the third stage, the shortest of the three, will take place in the mountains east of Loutraki on Sunday. Known to be one of the toughest rallies in the championship, the Acropolis will be a real test for the machines. Besides, Sébastien Loeb is the first to agree. “ Sometimes you should not hesitate to relieve very brittle portions, to avoid puncturing or breaking something. “, he admits. A position shared by his main opponent in the general classification, Mikko Hirvonen. “ The Acropolis is so brittle that it?s probably the only round where you have to think seriously about protecting the car », he replies.

All the competitors sharing the places in the official teams will be present, as will Petter Solberg on his private Xsara who has confirmed his presence at least as far as Poland. Finally, if the Junior championship takes a break for this event, the drivers from the Production championship will be present. Nasser Al-Attiyah will try to make it three consecutive victories this season, but Patrick Sandell and Armindo Araujo will also want to do well.

For all these crews, the heat will be a key element to take into account when trying to score big points. Everyone prepared for it as best as possible. Some played sports, like Jari-Matti Latvala and many other drivers. Others have experimented with a more radical method like Martin Semerád, one of the drivers in the Pirelli Driver Star program. “ I drove with the heater on full blast to try to prepare myself as best as possible for the conditions in Greece », he announces. All means seem good to adapt to the hottest rally of the year.