Loubet surprising leader ahead of Loeb at the Acropolis Rally!

It is a very surprising ranking which is displayed at the end of the first part of the day on the Rally of the Acropolis. It is our two French people who are leading the debates… but in a unique order! It is the young Pierre-Louis Loubet who is leading the “Rally of the Gods” after the four special stages of the morning, ahead of the experienced Sébastien Loeb !

The two pilots M-Sport dominated the debates Friday morning. For a long time, Sébastien Loeb led the event magnificently, signing the first three scratches of the day. A perfect start to the rally, only marred by a small error on SS5. The nine-time world champion arrived too quickly in a hairpin and had to reverse to restart.

It didn't take much for Pierre-Louis Loubet to take advantage and take the lead in a rally for the first time in his career in WRC ! The Corsican also set the best time on SS5, another great first for the young 25-year-old driver.

First scratch in WRC and at the head of the rally 🤩

It’s only a step but THANK YOU to everyone who has allowed me, over all these years, to realize this first dream 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/O955k1vVzt

— Pierre-Louis Loubet (@PL_Loubet) September 9, 2022

Loubet and Loeb took advantage of their starting position

Loubet therefore leads an unprecedented French double, while the gravel stages of the Acropolis are very progressive. From SS2, several drivers complained that the interval between starts, originally 3 minutes, was too short. The stewards then made the decision to extend the gap between each start to 4 minutes for the next special stages. At each pass, the first drivers had the difficult task of sweeping the road, which was beneficial for the last competitors to set off, including Sébastien Loeb and Pierre-Louis Loubet.

This is how we find, far behind, Kalle Rovanperä, relegated to 9th place overall, 30 seconds behind the French duo. The Finn was never in the game, a victim of his starting position. Ott Tänak saved the furniture better, and is in 5th place overall, 15 seconds behind Pierre-Louis Loubet.

Esapekka Lappi is also in very good shape: the Finn, co-author of the best time during SS4 with Loeb, is in ambush just behind the two Frenchmen, just like Thierry Neuville, solid 4th. The big loser of the morning is called Craig Breen, who had bad luck again. The Irishman suffered a front-right puncture during the special and lost 2 minutes changing tires.

⚠️ @Craig_Breen has dropped time on SS4: https://t.co/Xilq9FKJLO#WRCLive #AcropolisRally #WRC pic.twitter.com/AsZeIctgi0

- World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 9, 2022

The general classification after SS5: 

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