Relive the last day of the Acropolis Rally with live commentary

Le Rally of the Acropolis is coming to an end. With three special stages still in play this Sunday, Thierry Neuville leads the dance and is getting closer to a second victory this season after Monte-Carlo at the start of the year. Leading with more than 50 seconds ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo, the Belgian now just has to manage. Third, 1'20 behind the championship leader, Sébastien Ogier is betting everything on this Sunday to hope to limit the damage. See you from 7:59!

You can follow the evolution of the ranking live via the official WRC Live Timing, available here.

13:55 p.m. – 🏁 This is the end of this live text of the Acropolis Rally. Thank you for joining us throughout the weekend and see you in Chile from September 26 to 29 for the next round! Have a great Sunday everyone!

13h52 - 🏁 Meanwhile, Ogier has set off again and is trying to reach the finish line.

13:49 p.m. – 🏁 11'01“2 for Neuville at 17“4 from Fourmaux. But it doesn't matter if there was no best time in this Power Stage because there was the overall victory and he took another step towards the title while Ogier made a mistake! Incredible operation for the Belgian who has never seemed so close to his first world crown! The Frenchman's accident also offers a hat-trick to Hyundai.

Neuville's reaction after his victory, his first since Monte-Carlo last January: " I didn't have the information, but when I saw Ogier's car I wasn't sure, I asked Martijn 2km further and he said yes. I understood at that moment that I just had to bring the car back. It was a difficult weekend, we knew we had to keep a decent pace all weekend without taking risks, that's what we did, we were able to execute the plan, and it's really a nice finale »

SS15 standings

General classification after SS15

13h41 - 11'14"7 for Sordo who takes advantage of Ogier's setbacks to regain 2nd place overall

13:38 p.m. – 💥 Drama for Ogier who rolled over after 1,59 km in this Power Stage! The crew got out of the Yaris and are fine. Terrible blow for the Tricolore who was going to take 2nd place overall. This time, he will lose big and leave a boulevard to the title to Neuville

13h36 - No improvement for Thank you who finished 1 second behind Fourmaux. 10'44“8 for the Estonian on the line

13:25 p.m. – 🟢 The action resumes in this Power Stage. Tänak receives the starting signal

13:20 p.m. – Resumption is scheduled for 13:25 p.m.

13:13 p.m. – 🔴 We saw the ambulance leave the special route but for the moment there is no resumption time

13:10 p.m. – 🔴 Meanwhile at the service park…

Current mood pic.twitter.com/Pad60LeZUW

— Adrien FOURMAUX (@AdrienFourmaux) September 8, 2024

13:03 p.m. – 🔴 This is a spectator who was taken care of and evacuated to the hospital. A resumption time has yet to be confirmed.

12:54 – 🔴 The special stage was stopped after Evans passed. The management indicates that an ambulance intervened on the special stage

12h52 - Fourmaux's time holds up. Evans finishes in 10'54"6, 10"8 behind the Northerner. It's a big disappointment, things haven't been going well lately. We need to get back on track quickly, there's a lot of work to do. »

12h50 - Fourmaux immediately replied in 10'43“8 to push the Japanese back to 25“9. Friday was a frustrating day but that's part of the rally, that's how it is. We can still be happy with what we did on Friday and the pace we showed on Saturday. »

12h48 - 11'09“7 for Katsuta who takes up his temporary position. All the other Rally1s still have to go through

12h47 - Despite the tie, victory goes to Pajari who signs his third success this year. The Finn owes his success to a better time than Virves during SS1 on Friday!

12h45 - Crazy scenario in WRC2 with a puncture for the leader Pajari. Starting with a 28" lead, the Finn finished exactly 5" behind Virves and therefore without the slightest gap in the general standings.

12h43 - Virves has already broken Rossel's mark. 11'26“8 for the Estonian who improves by 13“5 on the line

12h40 - Rossel in force. The Tricolore wants this special victory and erases Kajetanowickz's mark of 34 and sets a new reference to beat in 2'11"40. For the moment he is still third in WRC3. " Thanks to the whole team, to my co-driver, we did a very good job (…) We will continue to fight for the next rounds. I think we deserved the victory but the level is very high. »

12h35 - All WRC2s are on the road to this Power Stage. After two sectors, it is Virves, currently 2nd in the category, who is in virtual lead of the special with more than 6 seconds of margin on Kajetanowickz

12h28 - Kajetanowickz crosses the finish line in 12'14“5 and sets the first reference of this PS. The Pole was 8th overall and 4th in WRC2 before the start

12h24 - Barring any surprises, victory should go to Neuville this Sunday. It remains to be seen how he and Ogier will share the points in the Power Stage. In the event of a better time in this one, the Frenchman would pocket 5 points and remain below 30 in the championship, with three rallies to go.

12:15 – 🟢 The Acropolis Rally Power Stage is underway with 18,29 kilometres. Kajetanowickz is the first on the road that the competitors were able to use for the first time during the previous special stage

12h09 - The start of SS15 is scheduled for 12:15. Here is a reminder of the general classification before the last start of the weekend:

12:05 p.m. – Here is the order of performance for the Power Stage:

• Kajetanowickz (WRC2)
• Rossel (WRC2)
• Virves (WRC2)
• Pajari (WRC2)
• Feel it
• Fourmaux
• Evans
• Serderidis
• Thank you
• Deaf
• Ogier
• Neuville

9:57 a.m. – Here is an update on the Super Sunday standings, still led by Ogier ahead of Tänak and Neuville.

Super Sunday standings with just the Wolf Power Stage left to run 👀#WRC | #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/lC4oEqgHhE

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 8, 2024

9h54 -There is only one special stage left, the Power Stage, scheduled for 12:15 p.m. after a stopover in the assistance area.

9h52 - In WRC2 before the final stage, Rossel managed to take 12 seconds from leader Pajari but remains far behind in third position. 3 seconds separate the two men with only the Power Stage still to go.

9:48 – 🏁 And another scratch for Ogier, the 8th for him in this Acropolis 2024. The Tricolore took the best on this special with a time of 11'36“8 and hangs on to 2nd place overall since he is now 20“9 ahead of Sordo. Neuville remains quietly in the lead overall with a 1'02“4 lead over Ogier.

SS14 standings

General classification after SS14

9h46 - No risk for Neuville who is not worried about these 13 seconds he has just dropped on Ogier. 2'11"51 for the Belgian. "The road was destroyed, it was a nightmare. I was so careful."

9h42 - For Sordo, the goal is to secure third place. The Spaniard reached the finish in 11'54“8, 16“2 behind Ogier. "Some places become very difficult on this special. All that remains is to fight for third place. That's the goal for today."

9h38 - Toyota took back control in this SS14 with a time of 11'38“6 for Ogier who made up the time lost in the first kilometers to finally beat Tänak by 2“5. I felt good all weekend, I had a very good car but bad luck was on our side, " he regrets given his displayed pace.

9h33 - And that's exactly the same time as Evans for Tänak on the line in 1'41"1. I played it safe the whole way through because there are a lot of pitfalls. » The Estonian is provisionally in the lead of the special

9h30 - The Toyotas are on pace. After Katsuta, it is Evans who sets the best provisional time of this SS14 with a time of 1'41“1, 1“8 than his teammate. This allows the Welshman to provisionally move up to 4th in this Super Sunday. I wouldn't say the conditions suit me because they are really difficult (…) We try to do our best to help the team »

9h26 - At Serderidis it's zero risk. At home, the Greek wants to finish in style and reach the finish in one piece. 13'43“7 for him at 2'10“8 from Katsuta

9h21 - Attack but no improvement for Fourmaux who finished in 11'43"6, 7 tenths behind Katsuta. It's incredible how much the grip level changes depending on the place (…) We didn't want to take any risks in this special, it's positive despite everything »

9h17 - 11'42"9 for Katsuta on the finish line of this SS14. He sets the benchmark to beat. It was quite tricky on the road (…) There are sections where there is not the slightest grip »

9h11 - This time, we note the passage of the storms from the day before. The road appears wetter with patches of mud unlike the SS13. Will some get trapped?

9h07 - Here is the update on Super Sunday with Ogier logically in the lead after his scratch during SS13

Super Sunday standings after the opening stage 👊#WRC | #AcropolisRally 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/DnJkx9hsZY

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 8, 2024

9:05 – SS14 🟢 The action resumes in Greece with the 14km SS1 of Eleftherohori 18,29. Katsuta is first on the road

8h45 - 🏁 The next departure (ES14) is scheduled for 9:05

8h42 - 🏁 The scratch for Ogier therefore, his 7th since the beginning of the weekend. The Tricolore climbs back to 2nd place overall at 1'15“6 from Neuville, more than ever on the way to his second victory of the season

The classification of SS13

The general classification after SS13

8h40 - Neuville loses 5 seconds on Ogier after crossing the finish line with a mark of 2'14"05. No need to worry for the Belgian who has 9'1"15 on his rival. I try to manage while maintaining a good pace on the road (…) It is very narrow so you really have to commit to avoid the dangers (…) But we must not take risks today. » Management mode activated.

8h35 - Things are moving on the podium. With a 31" deficit and a time of 9'14"32, Sordo sees Ogier steal second place from him overall. It's difficult and narrow. And the car was moving a lot.. » The Spaniard is now 4 seconds behind the Frenchman, Neuville's new runner-up in the general standings.

8h34 - As expected, Ogier took the provisional lead on SS13. The Frenchman completed the stage in 14'00“6 beating Tänak by 10“5 on the line. "[We are the fastest] It's been like this since the beginning of the weekend but we're still 3rd. It's not over yet »

8h30 - First big improvement of this SS13 with a Tänak in 14'11“1 sticking 10“6 at the Fourmaux mark. However, this should not hold since Ogier has provisionally 9“6 ahead while he completes the last kilometers of the special. Tänak has indicated that he still has some engine problems on his i20.

8h26 - No better time in the end for Evans who lost his 9 tenths lead in the last two sections. 14'22"9 for him at 1"2 behind Fourmaux. There is not much to do, " believes the Welshman who wants to limit the damage this Sunday. Tänak, Ogier and Sordo are on the road to this SS13 while Neuville is preparing to take the start

8h22 - 15'38“7 for Serdiridis at 1'17 from Fourmaux

8h17 - Fourmaux attacked in this last kilometer where he hit a rope, without consequence. The Northerner managed to beat Katsuta's mark thanks to a time of 14'21“7, 7“8 than that of the Japanese. The first information we had was that the road was wet and muddy. It seems to dry quite quickly. I'm not very happy with my pace on the stage. I still need to find some grip and confidence. We'll see how it goes. »

8h14 - Katsuta sets the first reference of the day in this SS13. 14'29“5 on the finish line for the Japanese. Surprisingly, the road is dry. We didn't expect that. »

8h07 - As the day begins, here is an update on the standings without taking into account any points from Super Sunday. Currently leading, Neuville has 186 points, 32 more than Ogier. Tänak is 3rd with 147.

8h05 - Despite the storms of the day before, the road looks quite dry, which should not bother the drivers.

8:03 – 🛞 In terms of strategy, Katsuta has 5 sets of soft tyres, Fourmaux 5 softs and 1 hard, Ogier 4 softs and 1 hard, Evans 3 softs and 2 hards, Neuville 6 softs, Sordo 4 softs and 2 hards, Tänak 4 softs and 1 hard

7:59 p.m. – 🟢 The last day of the Acropolis is underway! Katsuta is the first to take the road of this SS13 (Inohori – 17,47 km)

7h58 - Please note that a major storm hit Lamia and the service park during the evening. More information:

Acropolis – Lamia and the service park hit by a violent storm

7h56 - Here is the order of the day:

• Feel it
• Fourmaux
• Serderidis
• Evans
• Thank you
• Ogier
• Deaf
• Neuville

7:55 a.m. – 👋 Hello everyone! Welcome to this live commentary to follow together the last day of the Acropolis Rally (Greece), tenth round of the 2024 season of the WRCThe start of SS13 (Inohori – 17,47 km) will be given in a few minutes, at 7:59!

Sunday September 8 (54,05 km)
07:59 p.m. – SS13 : Inohori – 17,47 km
09:05 p.m. – SS14 : Eleftherohori 1 – 18,29 km
12:15 p.m. – SS15 : Eleftherohori 2 (Power Stage) – 18,29 km

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