After a well-deserved summer break for the actors of WRC, the World Rally Championship resumes its rights this weekend with an emblematic meeting of the calendar: the Rally of the Acropolis in Greece! The 2024 route, 303,23 kilometers long, will be divided into 15 special stages. The three manufacturers involved (Toyota, Hyundai et M-Sport Ford) will each arrive in Greece with three Rally1s.
> You can follow the live evolution of the ranking via the official WRC Live Timing, available here.
Friday September 6 (135,02 km)
06h58 – ES1 : Ano Pavliani 1 – 22,47 km – Sébastien Ogier
08h09 – ES2 : Dafni 1 – 21,67 km – Takamoto katsuta
10h33 – ES3 : Tarzan 1 – 23,37 km – Sébastien Ogier
13h33 – ES4 : Ano Pavliani 2 – 22,47 km – Sébastien Ogier
14h44 – ES5 : Dafni 2 – 21,67 km – Ott Tänak
16h52 – ES6 : Tarzan 2 – 23,37 km – Thierry Neuville
Acropolis Rally (Greece)
Relive the first day live with commentary
17h45 – 👋 Thank you all for following us, we will see you tomorrow morning for the second day of racing in Greece! Have a good evening!
Tänak capitalises on Ogier's woes to lead Hyundai 1-2-3 at Acropolis Rally
17h44 - Yohan Rossel crosses the line 2'00″9 behind Sami Pajari, who takes the lead of the Acropolis Rally in WRC2 by 1'14″4!
17h40 – 🏁 Jourdan Serderidis finished the special 1'56 behind Thierry Neuville. The Belgian signs his first scratch while Hyundai monopolizes the first three places of the Acropolis Rally thanks to Ott Tänak, Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville! The Estonian leads the race this Friday evening after a massacre at Toyota and M-Sport!
ES6 – Ranking
General ranking after ES6
17h38 - Yohan Rossel is leaving again but he has lost a lot of time! He will lose the lead in WRC2 to Sami Pajari, who didn't ask for so much!
17h36 – 🇫🇷⚠️ Oh no, puncture also for Yohan Rossel! He was well ahead of WRC2!
17h35 – After his puncture, Grégoire Munster crossed the finish line with a big delay of 2'29″8 on Thierry Neuville… and with another puncture in the last few hundred metres!
17h29 – Dani Sordo fails just 0″7 behind Thierry Neuville on this SS6. The Spaniard is 2nd overall, 21″8 behind Ott Tänak, but he could well be given team orders tomorrow to help the Belgian in the championship.
17h27 - The Belgian sets off again after a quick wheel change, having lost more than a minute in the manoeuvre.
17h26 – ⚠️ Another blow for M-Sport! Grégoire Munster is stopped, victim of a possible puncture!
17h23 - Elfyn Evans had a very complicated day after his misadventures this morning. The Welshman finished this special very far from the reference time set by Thierry Neuville, 45″8 behind the Belgian.
17h19 – Ott Tänak finished his special stage with a slight 1″4 deficit on Thierry Neuville. The Estonian is now well in the lead of the Acropolis Rally with a 45″2 advantage over the Belgian.
17h15 – 🇫🇷 The toll is heavy for Sébastien Ogier at the finish of this 6th special: 2'22″8 lost on Thierry Neuville! His delay on the Belgian is 1'41 in the general classification! The Frenchman confirms that the turbo of the Toyota Yaris is broken, like that of Elfyn Evans this morning. "There was not much that could be done to fix the problem.... That's motorsport."
17h09 – ⏱️ Thierry Neuville finished this special (and this day) with a time of 16'56″9. The Belgian will be 3rd in the general classification this Friday evening! “It was good. This stage was the most difficult of the day. We struggled with the balance of the car and we had a problem with the brakes. Today we tried everything we could with our starting position.”
17h05 – 📺 And meanwhile, the Hyundais are dancing! The three Korean machines have not had any major problems this afternoon and will take the top three places tonight, barring any accidents.
It's rough, it's narrow, there's no margin for error 🫣#AcropolisRally #WRC pic.twitter.com/EOCqrVFM0j
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) September 6, 2024
17h03 – 🇫🇷 Already 55 seconds lost after seven kilometers for Sébastien Ogier, it’s going to be a long special…
16h57 – ⚠️ As we feared, Sébastien Ogier began this long 23-kilometre special stage in slow motion.…The Toyota even stalled at the start. The eight-time world champion is going to lose a lot of time!
16h56 – 🇬🇧 Little information about Sébastien Ogier and his problem encountered at the end of SS5. A priori, the problem would be linked to the turbo. The Frenchman stopped twice in the liaison to make checks. He will present himself on the starting line, but with what pace?
16h54 – 🔎 The reference time set this morning during the first pass: 17'06″3, signed Sébastien Ogier.
16h52 – 🟢 The 6th and final special of the day is launched with the departure of Thierry Neuville!
15h51 – 👋 Meet at 16:52 a.m. for the start of ES6 (Tarzan 2 – 23,37 km).
15h50 – 🔎 Here is the general classification at the end of SS5 after the passage of Rally1 and the first Rally2. In WRC2, Yohan Rossel is still in the lead with a lead that continues to widen: Sami Pajari is relegated to 46″5 behind the Frenchman!
15h30 – 🏁 Jourdan Serderidis crosses the line 1'42″8 behind Ott Tänak. The Estonian hits a double on this 5th special: best time and now leader of the Acropolis Rally, thanks in particular to a mechanical problem encountered by Sébastien Ogier at the end of the special.
ES5 – Ranking
15h25 – Good time for Grégoire Munster who only concedes 6″2 to Ott Tänak at the finish of this SS5. Fighting with Yohan Rossel for 5th place overall, the Belgian should logically overtake the Frenchman at the end of this special.
15h21 – Dani Sordo finishes this special with a 4″5 deficit on Ott Tänak. He is 17″5 behind Sébastien Ogier in the general classification.
15h16 – 📺 Here is a replay of the incident suffered by Adrien fourmaux and which caused the breakage of his suspension and then his abandonment.
Heartbreak for Adrien and Alex on SS4 😔@OfficialWRC | @FordPerformance | @AcropolisRally pic.twitter.com/5VCNvCngyz
- M-Sport (@MSportLtd) September 6, 2024
15h14 – 10″1 behind Elfyn Evans at the finish of this 5th special.
15h09 – ⏱️ Ott Tänak sets the provisional best time in 16'27″2 and takes back the lead of the Acropolis Rally with a 5″0 lead over Sébastien Ogier!
15h05 – 🇫🇷 Sébastien Ogier finishes the special in slow motion! He finished 7 seconds behind Thierry Neuville, and lost six seconds in the last few hundred meters. He's going to lose the lead in the Acropolis Rally! "We need to check, there is a problem."
15h01 – ⏱️ Thierry Neuville reaches the end of his effort and crosses the line with a time of 16'36″6. "For me it was a bad stage. I have a lot of understeer. I have a lot of trouble."
14h53 – 🔎 During the first pass on this special this morning, it was Takamoto Katsuta who set the best time in 16'45″3.
14h50 – 🇫🇷❌ News from Adrien Fourmaux: despite his valiant efforts to try to repair the suspension of his Ford Puma, the Northerner has finally given up, it's the end of his day.
🙇♂️ Game over @AdrienFourmaux. Despite his best efforts, the Frenchman has not been able to repair his car after breaking a steering arm on SS4#WRC | #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/9y1EfcQFZg
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 6, 2024
14h47 – 🇫🇷📺 Can Sébastien Ogier make it four on this special, he who already has three best times to his name?
Seb and Vincent at work this morning securing the lead 💪#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/RTBEMqjNXc
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) September 6, 2024
14h44 – 🟢 Barely had SS4 finished when Thierry Neuville set off on SS5!
14h32 – 🔎 Here is the Top 10 in the general ranking after the Rally1 and first Rally2 runs. In WRC2, Yohan Rossel also consolidated his lead over Sami Pajari: the gap increased to 33″9 in favor of the Frenchman.
14h20 – 👋 Meet at 14:44 a.m. for the start of ES5 (Dafni 2 – 21,67 km).
14h19 – 🏁 Jourdan Serderidis closes the Rally1 ball with a time of 17'54″4. So it was Sébastien Ogier who won his third special stage of the day and widened the gap at the head of the Acropolis Rally ahead of Ott Tänak! A special stage that claimed one victim: Adrien Fourmaux, 2nd at the start of SS4 and victim of a suspension failure…
ES4 – Ranking
14h14 – Grégoire Munster crossed the line 13 seconds behind the reference time but took advantage of Adrien Fourmaux’s stop to move up to provisional 3th place.
14h08 – Dani Sordo finished this special 10 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier, apparently without his hybrid system. The Spaniard nevertheless climbed to 3rd place thanks to Adrien Fourmaux's stop.
14h04 – 🛠️ Adrien Fourmaux is still arrested, a return to the track seems to be off to a bad start...
14h02 – With a repaired Toyota, Elfyn Evans can now drive flat out. The Welshman, who already has nothing left to play for before Sunday, finishes this 4th special stage 15″4 behind Sébastien Ogier.
14h00 – ⚠️🛠️ Bad news: judging by the slow motion, it seems that it was more than a flat tire for Adrien Fourmaux, who probably broke his front-right suspension...
13h58 – Ott Tänak, who was ahead of Sébastien Ogier in the first five intermediates, finished 1″9 behind the Frenchman… but with Adrien Fourmaux’s puncture, he will take back 2nd place overall.
13:57 p.m. – ⚠️ Adrien Fourmaux is arrested! Puncture for the Frenchman!
Noooo @AdrienFourmaux 💔#WRC | #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/g26BldKn60
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 6, 2024
13h54 – 🇫🇷⏱️ He was immediately beaten, and by a wide margin, by Sébastien Ogier who clocked 16'11″0, or 13″2 better than Thierry Neuville. "I try to drive smoothly and enjoy myself. I have a good feeling with the car. The stage went well."
13h50 – ⏱️ Thierry Neuville is therefore the first to register a mark on this ES4 with a time of 16'24″2. "The car worked as it should. Thanks to the engineers for that. It's very slippery, it's difficult to hold the lines" says the Belgian, who now has the full power of his Hyundai.
13h44 – This morning, during the first pass on this special, it was Sébastien Ogier who set the best time in 16'33″2.
13h41 – 🔎 In terms of tyre choices, it’s the same price for everyone in Rally1: six hard tyres for this second loop!
13h39 – 📺 After taking the co-driver's seat yesterday, cyclist Mark Cavendish turned into a passionate spectator today on the side of the Greek roads to admire the passage of the Rally1.
What NOT to wear to a rally – wait for it 😂😂@MarkCavendish enjoyed stage side action on Friday at @AcropolisRally 🤩 pic.twitter.com/wr4FOMfX8R
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 6, 2024
13h35 – ☀️ It’s very, very hot in Greece this afternoon: 35°C in the air and 50°C on the ground! That could cause damage…
13h33 – 🟢 Thierry Neuville takes the start of SS4, here we go for the second loop of the day!
13h29 – ⚠️ Note that Grégoire Munster received a 20-second penalty for being two minutes late at a score. The Belgian is relegated to 1'32 behind the leader, Sébastien Ogier.
13h27 – 🔎 Here is the starting order this afternoon, after Takamoto Katsuta retired this morning.
1) Neuville
2) Ogier
3) Evans
4) Tanak
5) Fourmaux
6) Sordo
7) Munster
8) Serderidis
9) Pajari (WRC2)
10) Rossel (WRC2)
13h26 – 🇫🇷 Very good morning for Adrien Fourmaux, second at the end of the first loop despite hybrid problems on his Ford Puma.
Good day so far. We are P2 despite no hybrid this morning. Let's see what this afternoon brings!
Good day so far. We are P2 despite hybrid issues this morning. Let's see what the afternoon brings!@MSportLtd @redbullmotors pic.twitter.com/rkUptVl3QL
— Adrien FOURMAUX (@AdrienFourmaux) September 6, 2024
13h23 – The teams had 30 minutes in the service park to repair some badly damaged vehicles, such as Elfyn Evans' Toyota.
30-minute service 🛠️✅#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/kxi6uv0CEw
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) September 6, 2024
13h20 – 🔙 We are back after this lunch break for the second loop of the day in Greece! If you missed the first three special stages, don’t panic: here is the summary!
Ogier and Fourmaux lead the Acropolis Rally, two Toyotas already on the floor
11h53 – 👋 This is the end of this first loop, meet at 13:29 p.m. for the start of SS4 (Ano Pavliani 2 – 22,47 km)!
11h50 – 🔎 Here is the general classification after the passage of Rally1 and Rally2 at the end of SS3!
11h36 – 🏁 Jourdan Serderidis finished 1'56 behind Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman sets a great time on this SS3 and takes back the lead of the Acropolis Rally at the end of this first loop of the day! He is now ahead of a very solid Adrien Fourmaux who, even without hybrid, is only five seconds behind his compatriot!
ES3 – Ranking
11h30 – Grégoire Munster remains at his cruising speed and is 28″7 behind Sébastien Ogier on this 3rd special. The Belgian is perhaps right to play it safe, as he is in 6th place in Rally1 after the misadventures of Katsuta and Evans.
11h26 – With Takamoto Katsuta’s stop, Dani Sordo is the next to cross the finish line on this SS3. The Spaniard finishes 9″1 behind Sébastien Ogier’s time.
11h18 – 🇫🇷 Adrien Fourmaux sets the provisional 2nd time, 4 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier, and moves up to 9nd place in the general classification! French double for the moment in Greece… and what’s more, the Northerner drove without a hybrid this morning according to him! "We had a problem with the hybrid unit on the whole loop. We also lost time because of the dust from Elfyn [Evans] in front of us."
11h15 – It’s the end of the ordeal for Elfyn Evans, who reaches the finish line in slow motion, having lost three additional minutes. The Welshman will be able to return to the service park and repair his Yaris to set off again this afternoon.
11h14 – ⚠️ Takamoto Katsuta stops in the special after 6,1 kilometers! What a blow for the Japanese who had won the scratch in SS2! He allegedly tore a wheel off his Toyota, the crew is OK.
11h09 - Bad time on this SS3 for Ott Tänak who loses 11″2 and the lead of the rally to the benefit of Sébastien Ogier! « We are struggling with the balance of the car. We used the hard rubber."
11h05 – 🇫🇷⏱️ The Belgian's time did not last long since Sébastien Ogier signed a 17'06 "3, 12″6 faster than Thierry Neuville. Overall, the gap between the two men is already 35 seconds in favor of the Frenchman! "The tire strategy is different to Ott's [Tänak], but it seems to work."
11h01 – ⏱️ Thierry Neuville concludes this Tarzan special with a time of 17'18″9. A complicated morning for the championship leader who, in addition to opening the road, had to ride with one cylinder less. "The sweep here was a disaster. The engine worked better here and I tried to attack more."
11h00 – On the other hand, behind, Ott Tänak is already 7″1 behind Sébastien Ogier at the 4th intermediate point!
10h56 – After 10,6 kilometres of special, Sébastien Ogier is well on the way to Thierry Neuville: the Frenchman is four seconds ahead. Let's not forget that the Belgian has had to struggle with a recalcitrant engine since SS1.
10h52 – 💬 "It's the most demanding rally and only Kenya is tougher than Greece." Before the start of the Acropolis Rally, Alexandre Coria – co-driver of Adrien Fourmaux – spoke about the challenge represented by the Greek event.
Acropolis – Alexandre Coria: “It’s the most extreme European rally”
10h47 – 📺 The Tarzan stage is one of the most famous, but also one of the most feared on the WRC calendar. Tarzan is 23 winding kilometers where every turn can hide a trap! A real challenge for the drivers, as we can see in this onboard camera with Kalle Rovanperä during his passage in 2021.
10h43 – 🟢 After this delay of almost half an hour on the initial program, SS3 can finally start! Thierry Neuville sets off on the legendary Tarzan special!
10h29 – ⚠️ New delay for the start of ES3, which will finally be given at 10:43. In the meantime, we share with you this drone video of Adrien Fourmaux's passage in ES2.
DRONE FPVVVVV ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tnEG1XbKP7
— Adrien FOURMAUX (@AdrienFourmaux) September 6, 2024
9h50 – 👋 Meet at 10:33 a.m. for the start of ES3 (Tarzan 1 – 23,37 km).
9h45 – 🔎 Here is the general classification at the end of SS2 after the passage of Rally1 and Rally2. Yohan Rossel leads the WRC2 category with a 16-second lead over Sami Pajari.
9h17 – 🏁 Jourdan Serderidis crosses the finish line 1'43″6 behind the best time set by the offensive Takamoto Katsuta, who took advantage of his starting position and a spare wheel less to sign his first scratch in Greece! The Japanese is back to 0″2 of the new leader of the Acropolis Rally, Ott Tänak.
Taka goes fastest in SS2 Dafni and moves up to 2nd overall, just 0.2s off new leader Tänak! 🥇#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/jwqL1ivxC1
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) September 6, 2024
ES2 – Ranking
9h12 – Grégoire Munster continues his pace and plays it safe by finishing 26″5 behind Takamoto Katusta at the end of SS2. The Belgian reports that his handbrake is no longer working.
9h08 – 4″9 behind Dani Sordo on the reference time set by Takamoto Katsuta.
9h04 – ⏱️ And it was Takamoto Katsuta who took advantage of this and set the best provisional time in 16'45″3, 1″9 better than Ott Tänak! He climbs to 2nd place overall with 0″2 behind the Estonian!
8h59 – 🇬🇧 Long in the running to set the best time, Adrien Fourmaux finally failed 2″2 behind Ott Tänak at the finish of this SS2. The Frenchman is 2″4 behind the Estonian in the general standings. "At the end it was difficult with the tyres, it was very slippery. I'm quite happy with the first two stages. Under the trees it's very difficult with the dust. Of course it's better with the 4-minute gap."
8h57 – Elfyn Evans finally finishes this ordeal special in slow motion, with a significant delay of 3'16″9 when crossing the line… the Welshman is now 5'25 behind the leaders overall, and his hopes of victory are over.
After having to stop and change a wheel in SS1, Elfyn and Scott are now managing a lack of power on the stages. Definitely not the start we wanted for them 😔
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) September 6, 2024
8h53 – For the moment, at the second intermediate, it is Adrien Fourmaux who has the best provisional time by a tenth ahead of Ott Tänak!
8h50 – ⏱️ Ott Tänak takes the best time and the lead in the Acropolis Rally! The Estonian arrives with a 2″0 lead over Sébastien Ogier and is now the leader with a 1″4 lead over the Frenchman.
8h47 – 🔎 Moreover, after Sébastien Ogier's complaint at the finish of SS1, the starts are now spaced four minutes apart to allow the dust to clear.
8h46 – 🇫🇷⏱️ Best time for Sébastien Ogier in 16'49″2, but behind, Ott Tänak is going even faster and should steal first place overall... “The stage was tricky and there was a lot of sweeping. The guys behind will be faster.”
8h43 – ⚠️ Elfyn Evans has taken the start of SS2… but he is already 50 seconds behind at the first intermediate. It will be a morning of survival for the Welshman who will try to join the assistance at the end of this first loop.
8h42 – ⏱️ Thierry Neuville sets the first mark on this SS2 with a time of 17'02″0. The Belgian still complains about a recalcitrant engine. "We couldn't solve the problem, we were running on three cylinders for half the stage. That's a lot of sweeping."
8h38 – After 10,6 kilometres of racing, Sébastien Ogier has a 3″2 lead over Thierry Neuville. Ott Tänak is the fastest at the first intermediate.
8h30 – 📺 How nice to see these Rally1s back in action after a long four-week summer break, isn’t it?
Summer break is over. We are back!#AcropolisRally #WRC pic.twitter.com/sSpr4i9fjB
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) September 6, 2024
8h27 – The Belgian's Hyundai appears to be running at a good pace after the successive worry on SS1 and a loss of power felt by the championship leader.
8h25 – 🟢 After a slight delay of around fifteen minutes, the action resumes in Greece with the start of Thierry Neuville in this second special!
8h15 – 🇬🇧❌ While waiting for the start of SS2, bad news comes to us from SS1 for Pierre-Louis Loubet. The Frenchman stopped for a long time after the 5th intermediate and finally finished about ten minutes late. We don't know if this is due to a mechanical problem, an off-track exit or if it is because of Lambros Athanassoulas' accident that took place in the special and which caused a red flag.
8h08 – ⚠️ The start of SS2 was delayed by a few minutes, the reason for this delay is still unknown.
7h55 – 🔎 In WRC2, Yohan Rossel also started his Friday well with the best time in SS1. The Frenchman also takes the lead in the category.
7h43 – 🔎 Meet at 8:09 a.m. for the start of ES2 (Dafni 1 – 21,67 km).
Stage win for Seb in SS1 to claim the early lead! 🥇#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/5mJCB2kQfr
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) September 6, 2024
7h41 – 🏁 The local of the stage, Jourdan Serderidis, finishes the Rally1 ball 1'43″3 behind the best time set by Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman therefore won the first scratch of this Acropolis Rally and logically took the lead at the end of a first special which will have already claimed one victim: Elfyn Evans.
ES1 – Ranking
7h37 – For his first time in Greece at the wheel of a Rally1, Grégoire Munster played the cautious card by finishing 21″6 behind Sébastien Ogier’s time.
7h34 – ⚠️ Thierry Neuville stopped on the link between SS1 and SS2, engine cover open. The Belgian is working on his mechanics, he who complained of a loss of power during the special. One to watch…
7h33 – Veteran Dani Sordo, back for the Acropolis, finished this first special 9″3 behind the Frenchman.
7h30 – A cautious but assured start for Takamoto Katsuta who crossed the line 2″7 behind Sébastien Ogier’s time.
7h27 – 🇬🇧 Adrien Fourmaux arrives in the wake and visibly, he was not so much disturbed by the dust raised by the Welshman in front of him. The Frenchman signs the 3rd provisional time at 0″8 behind Sébastien Ogier. “I almost had it! What a tricky stage, the first pass was a challenge.”
🥉 fastest for @AdrienFourmaux on Friday's opening stage.
Only 0.8s off the pace on SS1. @OfficialWRC | @FordPerformance | @AcropolisRally pic.twitter.com/HkqdC1aXkq
- M-Sport (@MSportLtd) September 6, 2024
7h26 – ⚠️ Elfyn Evans painfully finishes this first special in slow motion, after changing his wheel. The Briton has already lost 2'09″6 on this SS1…
7h21 – Ott Tänak finished 0″6 behind the reference time set by Sébastien Ogier.
7h20 – ⚠️ Elfyn Evans is the first rider to suffer a flat tire in Greece! The Welshman has to change his wheel and set off again, but it's already a compromised day for him! Two minutes lost for the Toyota driver.
7h18 – 🇫🇷⏱️ Sébastien Ogier takes advantage of Thierry Neuville's sweep and improves the best time to 16'33″2. That's 10 seconds better than the Belgian, even though the Frenchman complains about the dust on the road which spoils visibility.
Ogier: "A good stage, but it's annoying to race in this dust. We said there would be some, [the stewards] said no. What's on their minds?"
7h15 – ⏱️ After more than a quarter of an hour of effort, Thierry Neuville crossed the line and set the first reference time in 16'43″5.
Neuville: "A lot of sweeping, I didn't expect that after the recon. There were also problems with the engine, like I only had 3 cylinders for a while."
7h11 – Five drivers are launched on this first special, the starts are given every three minutes. Halfway through, Sébastien Ogier has a two-second lead over Thierry Neuville.
7h10 – The unofficial start of the Acropolis Rally was given yesterday evening in Lamia in front of a large crowd who came to admire the Rally1s and the drivers.
What a start! 🤩#WRC | #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/jEBcEQLqzk
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 5, 2024
7h07 – 🔎 Moreover, at the end of the reconnaissance, the pilots indicated that the 2024 version of the Hellenic round promises to be particularly challenging this year. Hearing some players declare that the conditions will be identical to Kenya, should we expect a massacre?
7h04 – The Acropolis Rally is known for being one of the most uncompromising on the calendar with plenty of pitfalls on the track… and even off it. Hyundai offers us a little guide to everything to avoid this weekend to avoid any problems!
Things we found on recce that you definitely don't want to hit 😳#AcropolisRally #WRC pic.twitter.com/8g3QIzcD94
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) September 5, 2024
7h00 – 🔎 In terms of tyre choices, all Rally1 drivers start with two spare tyres except Takamoto Katsuta. Sébastien Ogier has chosen three hard tyres and three soft tyres, while Ott Tänak, Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans have taken two soft tyres. The others have only hard tyres.
6h58 – 🟢 The Acropolis Rally is underway with Thierry Neuville taking part in this first special stage!
6h55 – 🔎 Here is the starting order for this first day in Greece, in championship order as usual.
1) Neuville
2) Ogier
3) Evans
4) Tanak
5) Fourmaux
6) Katsuta
7) Sordo
8) Munster
9) Serderidis
10) Pajari (WRC2)
11) Rossel (WRC2)
12) Joona (WRC2)
6h53 – The paddock was visited by a champion on two wheels: Mark Cavendish, record holder for stage victories in the Tour de France, shared the road with the WRC drivers, notably Sébastien Ogier.
Two champions sharing each other's worlds 🤝
Hope this sprint through shakedown was fast enough for you, @MarkCavendish! #ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/dTY64oWbkR
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) September 5, 2024
6h51 – 🔢 Here is the classification of the Drivers' Championship at the start of this Acropolis Rally, with a well-established Thierry Neuville in the lead, he who has a 27-point lead over Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman will participate in all the remaining rallies to seek a 9th title and to help Toyota in the Constructors' championship.
1) Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) – 168 points
2) Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) – 141 points
3) Ott Tänak (Hyundai) – 137 points
4) Elfyn Evans (Toyota) – 132 points
5) Adrien Fourmaux (M-Sport Ford) – 119 points
6) Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) – 86 points
7) Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) – 76 points
8) Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai) – 33 points
9) Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) – 29 points
10) Dani Sordo (Hyundai) – 27 points
6h49 – ✍️ We recall the main news of the week in WRC: the contract extension of Thierry Neuville at Hyundai for the 2025 season. The Belgian explained why he was only extending for another 12 months with the Korean manufacturer.
Thierry Neuville: "We will have to see what the future of the team is, we could stay longer"
6h47 – 🔎 Before the first special, there was obviously the shakedown yesterday morning on the rough trails of Greece. It was Takamoto Katsuta who set the best time on his Toyota.
6:45 a.m. – 👋 Hello everyone! Welcome to this live commentary to follow together the first day of the Acropolis Rally (Greece), tenth round of the 2024 WRC season. The start of SS1 (Ano Pavliani 1 – 22,47 km) will be given in a few minutes, at 6:58!
ALSO READ > The 2024 Rally Greece program
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