Hyundai’s Ott Tanak handed Sebastien Ogier’s ailing Toyota to steer Acropolis Rally Greece on the finish of Friday’s opening leg, capping an incident-filled day that might considerably affect this yr’s FIA World Rally Championship title race.
Greece’s notoriously rugged gravel roads lived as much as their punishing repute, with 4 of the championship’s high 5 drivers encountering bother and dropping important time. However Tanak (above) guided his i20 N Rally1 via the chaos unscathed, the Estonian topping a commanding Hyundai 1-2-3 in a single day.
Eight-time WRC champ Ogier, who began the rally second in championship factors, held an 11.7s lead over Tanak when M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux retired from second general attributable to a damaged steering arm on the day’s fourth stage. However catastrophe struck Ogier late within the day when a turbocharger challenge on his GR Yaris Rally1 price the Frenchman, whose restricted 2024 schedule has quickly remodeled right into a full-on title assault, round two-and-a-half minutes and relegated him to fourth.
Ogier’s misfortune compounded a disastrous day for the Toyota Gazoo Racing manufacturing unit squad. Teammate Elfyn Evans dropped practically 9 minutes earlier within the day with an analogous turbo challenge, whereas Takamoto Katsuta retired on the morning’s last stage with rear suspension harm after mishearing a pacenote from co-driver Aaron Johnston.
Sebastien Ogier’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 had been main on the tough Greek phases, till a turbo challenge dropped him down the order.
Explaining the scenario, Toyota technical director Tom Fowler mentioned: “It appears like Seb has misplaced the increase stress from the turbocharger. We had Elfyn’s automotive this morning with the identical signs.
“It’s an enormous disappointment as a result of, clearly, it’s one other rally after Finland the place we’ve got actually robust efficiency within the automotive. In Finland we didn’t capitalize on that, and it appears like right here, once more, we’re not going to capitalize on the potential efficiency that each the automotive and the drivers have.”
In distinction, Hyundai celebrated as Tanak led his i20 N Rally1-driving teammates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville by 21.8 and 23.4s respectively on the in a single day halt. Because it stands, the Korean marque is poised to considerably prolong its benefit within the WRC producers’ championship.
“We’ve acquired to be pleased about a trouble-free day. It’s been robust with the warmth and the tough situations,” mentioned Tanak, who presently sits third within the WRC drivers’ standings. “It’s been an ideal day for Hyundai, however everyone knows there’s extra to return.”
Sordo, making his first look since Rally Italy Sardinia in June, confronted challenges of his personal, managing a defective hybrid unit all through a lot of the afternoon. Present WRC factors chief Neuville additionally encountered points, nursing an engine downside within the morning that left his automotive working on diminished energy, however crucially headed title rival Ogier by 1m41.2s in a single day.
Elsewhere among the many headlining Rally 1 crews, M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster was pressured to cease for a wheel change on the day’s sixth and last stage. He now sits seventh general, however had impressed along with his tempo and consistency previous to the late mishap.
M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster held a strong top-five spot till selecting up a puncture on the day’s last stage. Jaanus Ree/Purple Bull Content material Pool
In WRC2, the second tier of worldwide rallying, Estonia’s Robert Virves vaulted from fourth to first on the day’s last stage, snatching the lead after heartbreak struck Yohan Rossel.
Citroen C3 driver Rossel dominated the day’s early phases, posting quickest class instances on the primary 5 assessments and constructing a commanding 46.5s lead over his closest WRC2 rival. Nonetheless, his fortunes took a dramatic activate the closing 14.52-mile Tarzan take a look at when he was pressured to cease seven miles in to vary a wheel. He misplaced greater than two minutes and tumbled to sixth within the standings.
“The one constructive is we’ll have a greater highway place tomorrow,” mentioned Rossel. “It’s robust as a result of we gave all the things, however it’s the identical for a number of the others, and there’s nonetheless a protracted approach to go.”
Skoda Fabia RS driver Virves had been mendacity fourth earlier than the ultimate stage, however a sensational time – 11.1s sooner than anybody else – propelled him into the in a single day lead, simply 1.5s forward of Sami Pajari in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Skoda Fabia RS driver Robert Virves climbed from fourth in WRC2 to main the category after a scorching time on Friday’s last stage. Jaanus Ree/Purple Bull Content material Pool
Saturday’s second leg guarantees extra challenges because the tough stuff continues. Six particular phases add as much as 72.22 aggressive miles on the unforgiving roads south of Lamia.
WRC Rally Acropolis Greece, positions after Leg One, SS6
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h40m16.9s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +21.8s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +45.2s
4 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m26.4s
5 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 chief) +3m10.9s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +3m12.4s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m08.4s
8 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +4m09.0s
9 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo der Ohannesian (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +4m19.7s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +4m22.5s
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