Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja ended a rough, puncture-riddled opening day of EKO Acropolis Rally Greece with a three second lead over Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria, giving Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT hope for a repeat win on one of their most successful events.
Sebastian Ogier and Vincent Landais ended third in their Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Yaris, some 16.9 seconds off the lead, having led the event heading into the mid-day service break.
Thierry Neuville controlled a Hyundai one-two-three after stage three before the Belgian’s miserable luck continued when he suffered a left-front puncture in stage four, the final test of the morning loop, leaving the i20 N trailing home 40 seconds adrift and on three tyres and a rim.
“It was the right decision to carry on,” Neuville explained. “Obviously disappointing, but the rally is long. There are going to be a lot of punctures.”
Behind the leading trio, Sami Pajari continued his impressive form, briefly holding third overall and ending the loop in fourth. He was 4.9sec ahead of Kalle Rovanperä, who has struggled with confidence and reported excessive oversteer in his GR Yaris.
Neuville is sixth, followed by Elfyn Evans, who is enduring a tough start to his Acropolis campaign. First on the road, the Welshman described his car as “really difficult to turn” and dropped 42.5sec off the lead by midday.
Grégoire Munster was eighth, with WRC2 frontrunners Oliver Solberg and Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounding out the overall top 10. Mārtiņš Sesks, Takamoto Katsuta and Josh McErlean all dropped time earlier in the loop after stopping to change wheels.
Ogier’s pace ebbed away in the afternoon, dropping to third behind the top two Hyundais. Fourmaux was on fine form, taking two stage wins on the bounce. Evans was fourth, a solid run after sweeping the road in the morning stages.
Munster held an impressive fifth overall from Katsuta, Rovanperä and Neuville.
Pajari’s great run ended with a mechanical retirement en route to stage six.
Oliver Solberg held a solid 53 second lead in WRC2 over Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
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