Rallies Only Finish at the End – Tänak's Victory Sealed After the Final Metre
A rally only truly ends when the competitors park their car in parc fermé, after the final time control. Ott Tänak may have finished the Power Stage in fifth place, with the win seemingly secured, but there were still over 56 kilometres to go before he could be officially crowned the winner. Gearbox issues in the Hyundai i20 left Tänak uncertain about whether victory would hold. Even after the podium celebrations, Tänak and Martin Järveoja still had to cover the 56.6 km road section before it was all officially confirmed. Fortunately, everything went smoothly – the gearbox held out, and the team could finally breathe a sigh of relief, registering Hyundai’s first win of 2025 after seven rounds.
After an exciting duel between Tänak and the ever-formidable Sébastien Ogier, Hyundai achieved another key objective by securing third place with Adrien Fourmaux, who narrowly beat championship leader Elfyn Evans’ Toyota. It was a well-executed strategy from Hyundai, who leave Greece with a positive points gain over Toyota, despite the best efforts of both Ogier and Evans.
As for reigning world champion Thierry Neuville, three punctures ruined his strategy and dealt another blow to his increasingly faint hopes of retaining the title. Kalle Rovanperä also remains well below his usual performance level, with disappointing results. This has raised eyebrows, with questions split between the car’s handling and the driver’s current mindset.
In WRC2, Oliver Solberg looked as if he were driving an RC1-class car, putting in a dominant performance that placed his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 in sixth overall, completely commanding the category.
Things are now more finely balanced heading into Rally Estonia, which takes place from 17–20 July. Three title contenders – Elfyn Evans (150 points), Sébastien Ogier (141), and Ott Tänak (138) – are tightly grouped at the top. Meanwhile, world champion Thierry Neuville is already trailing too far behind, with just 96 points to his name. In the manufacturers’ standings, Toyota maintains its lead with 358 points, ahead of Hyundai’s 293.
