Neuville regains victory on the Acropolis Rally, historic hat-trick for Hyundai!

It is a blessing for Thierry Neuville and to Hyundai ! After a devilishly difficult first part of the season, the Belgian and the Korean team found the path to redemption to win on the " Rally gods ". Taking advantage of the misfortunes of Toyota and M-Sport, the Belgian seized the opportunity and won his first victory of the season in Greece. He had not occupied the highest step of the podium since the Catalonia Rally, in October 2021. Historic day also for Hyundai, which scored its first hat-trick in its history on the Acropolis Rally in WRC ! Neuville – Thank you – Sordo: it’s the winning trifecta for the double world champion team in Lamia.

HISTORY‼️ @thierryneuville and @MWydaeghe have led @HMSGOfficial to their first-ever 1-2-3 finish 🥇🥈🥉

A colossal weekend for #HMSGOfficial at @AcropolisRally #AcropolisRally | #WRC | #WRCLive

- World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 11, 2022

“It has been a difficult season so far and to get the victory after a very difficult weekend in Belgium is a relief, declared Thierry Neuville at the finish of the Power Stage. The most important thing is that we have a 1-2-3 for the team. After all these years, we finally got it and it's a historic moment for the brand and the team. Everyone worked hard for this and it’s a great reward. »

Team instructions at Hyundai

Who would have thought, at the start of the season, that Hyundai would come back so strong in the last rallies of the season? The Korean team has just made it three: third consecutive victory after Finland and Ypres and a hat-trick which will remain in the brand's history books. However, this success was not so obvious at the start of the weekend in Greece. Remained discreet during the day on Friday, far behind Sébastien's M-Sport Loeb and Pierre-Louis Loubet, the Hyundai i20s showed themselves on Saturday, thanks in particular to their reliability which was perfect throughout the weekend.

Propelled to the lead of the rally after the retirements of Loeb and the misadventures of the Toyotas, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak then engaged in a long-distance duel for first place. A remake of the Ypres Rally? Hyundai decided otherwise: to avoid the disaster that occurred in Belgium with Neuville, Julien Moncet's team decided on Sunday morning to freeze the positions...

A choice not to the taste of Ott Tänak, second and yet better placed in the championship than his Belgian teammate. “ If you want to compete for a championship, the decision to not have team guidelines was a bad one. If you want to have good public relations, it's a good decision... It depends on how you look at it. It’s a shame because all Friday we had a problem with the hybrid,” said a frustrated Tänak.

A cruel Acropolis Rally for Toyota and M-Sport

“Luxury freelancer” at Hyundai, Dani Sordo had an Acropolis Rally without waves but very solid. The Spaniard was able to avoid the pitfalls offered by the Greek event and came away with a third podium this season, in as many races contested. 

Behind him we find the man who put on a show throughout the day on Friday: Pierre-Louis Loubet, fantastic 4th in the Acropolis Rally. “ This is a big step forward this weekend. I think everyone will learn a lot during the season and we have progressed quite well. A big thank you to the team, they did an incredible job on my car all weekend,” confided the Corsican at the end of the event. With this 4th place in Greece, Pierre-Louis Loubet equals his best performance in the WRC, which he had already achieved during the Sardinia Rally this season. A nice result which alleviates the frustration of Saturday morning, where the young 25-year-old driver lost more than a minute in a puncture.

Craig Breen returns to the top 5, after several consecutive retirements from the last rallies. The Irishman could have aimed better without his puncture on Friday, which cost him more than two minutes. Takamoto Katsuta is the first Toyota driver in this ranking, with a 6th place. The official team does not place any car in the top 10, since Elfyn Evans, 4th on the morning of the last stage, was not even able to start SS14! A disaster rally for the Japanese manufacturer, which sees Hyundai getting closer in the championship.

Small consolation for Rovanperä

The title race will therefore continue at the next rally, in New Zealand. With his 2nd place and 5 points from the Power Stage, Ott Tänak is moving a little closer to Kalle Rovanperä. Out of contention throughout the Acropolis Rally, the championship leader was able to score 4 crucial points during the Power Stage. From now on, 53 points separate the two contenders for the world crown. Kalle Rovanperä could be titled in New Zealand if he scores 8 points more than Ott Tänak. The Hyundai's return to form means that the championship is still far from over...

The general classification of the Acropolis Rally: 

The Power Stage ranking: 

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