Acropolis – Alexandre Coria: “It’s the most extreme European rally”

Even if it is not the event where you have the most experience in WRC, will there be a lot of new things?

It is true that this will only be my 3^e participation. I came there with Yohan Rossel in 2021, then we only did the reconnaissance with Adrien in 2022 before competing in the rally last year. We were with the Ford Fiesta Rally2. So this will be the first time that Adrien drives there with the hybrid Rally1. This can play a role, because we don't know how the terrain can affect the functioning of this element. In terms of the route, we found times that we already knew, especially in the Loutraki region. There are also new sections that haven't been used since the 2000s or others that we will run in the opposite direction, which I think is great.

You occupy the 5^e place of the Drivers' Championship. Will this allow you to benefit from a somewhat cleaned road surface?

Unlike last year when it was extreme, the weather looks good so the ground should be dry. So there will definitely be some sweeping. Our starting order is not perfect, but it will be better than for the competitors in front. The disadvantage of our 5^e rank is that we will also discover the stones that will have been taken out by the first cars. We were able to see in Finland with Kalle (Rovanperä) and Jonne (Halttunen) the consequences that this can have… 

The Acropolis had a reputation as the toughest European event of the season. Is that still the case today or are Portugal and Sardinia in the same league?

It is indeed the most demanding rally and only Kenya is more difficult than Greece. In Portugal, there are areas that can be degraded while for the Acropolis we are talking about entire SS.

Does this extreme side push you to have specific notes?

We are using what we use in Kenya. It is a mix between the Safari vocabulary and that of Portugal where it is very hard, very destroyed. It will be important to take care of our reconnaissance to try to identify the places where it will be hollowed out and where we are likely to encounter stones knowing that there is a difference in terrain between the sandy south and the Tarzan special which is completely to the north.

Is it difficult to return to a slower event after 3 high-speed rounds?

I honestly prefer to do it this way! It was more demanding to go from Sardinia to Poland where we were sometimes at an average speed of 130 km/h… We had a good test session on a base that was representative of what we will find. This has already allowed us to recalibrate. However, you should not think that the Acropolis is a slow rally. It is still fast. That is what makes it complicated, because we are driving on damaged roads. The car also has to be high enough to cover these kilometres, which requires special driving.

What goal have you set for yourself?

At the beginning of the year, we were hoping to get podiums towards the end of the championship. It turns out that we have already had 4. If you had told me that in January, I would have signed up straight away. Even if we always want to aim higher, we are not going to get carried away. We know the recipe, but we also know that we are still missing a little bit. There are details that we need to work on more to erase the gaps that separate us from the leaders.

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