The Acropolis Rally was truly scorching. Once the dust had settled, Ott Tänak emerged as the undisputed winner. Hyundai’s victory ended Toyota’s dominance, which had seen the team win the previous six rallies.
Over three gruelling days, the drivers endured a punishing route to reach the finish line – a hallmark of the Acropolis Rally, which entered the World Championship in 1973 as one of its founding events. With temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius, the heat posed major challenges for tyres, car reliability, and even the drivers themselves. The cockpit felt more like a sauna, and veteran Jourdan Serderidis was forced to retire after succumbing to the heat inside his Ford Puma Rally1, requiring medical attention.
The Acropolis Rally began with 12 Rally1 cars, setting the stage for a fierce contest between Hyundai, Toyota, and Ford drivers. That was certainly the case in the opening stage, but no one was able to match the pace of Ott Tänak afterwards, as rivals fell back due to a lack of speed or their own mistakes.
The first day was action-packed, with five changes of lead across seven stages. Heat, dust, and punctures dominated the narrative, and the day ended with two Hyundai drivers leading the rally. Ott Tänak and Adrien Fourmaux were the only ones to avoid punctures on the narrow, rocky stages. Sébastien Ogier, the fastest of the Toyota drivers, followed closely behind. The top three were separated by just 16.9 seconds, promising a thrilling battle the next day – and even some verbal sparring. Ogier candidly remarked, “Tomorrow [second leg], I have nothing to lose,” to which Tänak responded, “That’s nonsense – you have to think in terms of the team.”
Tänak delivered a masterclass in the second leg, winning five of the six stages and extending his lead. Meanwhile, Adrien Fourmaux saw his hopes of a maiden WRC win dashed after damaging his rear suspension. The Estonian ended the day 43.6 seconds ahead of Sébastien Ogier and over two minutes clear of teammate Fourmaux. “Fantastic. The day was extremely demanding, with very tough stages. I had a good road position and the car improved as the day went on,” explained the rally leader.
Tänak was firmly in control heading into the third and final leg, but a gearbox issue in the last stage affected his pace. Still, his advantage was enough to secure the win. “To be honest, I was very worried. In the final stage, third gear became very noisy and I realised it had broken. Soon the gearbox sounded strange and we weren’t sure if we’d make it to the end. It was too much stress to go through for a rally win,” the Estonian admitted.
Ogier pushed hard on the final day, winning both the Super Sunday and the Power Stage, earning himself 10 extra championship points. Adrien Fourmaux completed the podium in Greece. Elfyn Evans never showed the pace to challenge the top three, only finishing fourth thanks to punctures and off-road excursions from others. Reigning world champion Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five, but was once again the slowest of the Hyundai drivers.
The fight for the drivers’ title is heating up, with Evans, Ogier and Tänak separated by just 12 points and seven rallies remaining. The Frenchman will be absent from the next round – Rally Estonia (17–20 July) – and it remains to be seen whether he will still contend for a ninth world title.
In the WRC2 category, Oliver Solberg delivered another dominant performance, winning nine of the 17 stages and finishing 53.8 seconds ahead of Gus Greensmith (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), claiming sixth overall! With this win, the Toyota GR Rally2 driver now leads the championship by three points over Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3 Rally2), who finished third in Greece.
Final Standings
1st Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20N Rally1) – 4:12:20.1
2nd Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – +32.8s
3rd Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20N Rally1) – +3:09.8
4th Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – +3:31.1
5th Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20N Rally1) – +6:09.5
6th Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) – +10:34.7 (1st in Rally2)
Drivers' Championship
1st Elfyn Evans (Toyota) – 150 points
2nd Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) – 141
3rd Ott Tänak (Hyundai) – 138
4th Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) – 117
5th Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) – 96
Constructors' Championship
1st Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT – 358 points
2nd Hyundai World Rally Team – 293
3rd M-Sport Ford World Rally Team – 97
4th Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 – 57