Sebastien Ogier moved into the lead of the Acropolis Rally after an eventful opening loop where power issues struck his World Rally Championship title rivals Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans.
A blistering effort on the final stage of a particularly arduous gravel loop helped Toyota driver Ogier regain the rally lead he held after winning the opening stage, to head to service with a 5.9s advantage.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrian Fourmaux emerged as Ogier’s nearest rival after the Frenchman climbed above Hyundai’s Ott Tanak [+9.8s], who had topped the timesheets after two stages.
Hyundai’s Dani Sordo completed the loop in fourth [+19.4s] ahead of championship-leading team-mate Neuville, hampered by an engine issue [+35.7s]. The top six was rounded out by M-Sport Gregoire Munster [+1m12.9s] after Toyota Takamoto Katsuta suffered a crash, while team-mate Evans [+8m57.3s] lost time to a puncture and a power problem.
Crews predicted this year’s Acropolis Rally to be the roughest and most challenging in recent years and it didn’t take long for the tough gravel roads to bite.
Title contender Evans suffered a puncture 15 kilometres into the opening Ano Pavliani (22.47km) stage, which cost the Toyota driver more than two minutes as the Welshman appeared to reach the stage end with his GR Yaris suffering another issue. Evans was seen working under the bonnet of his car on the road section between stages.
Championship leader Neuville also endured a difficult start reporting that he felt his i20 N was running on three cylinders during the test, which required roadside repairs. The Belgian was also affected by cleaning the road and ended the stage 10.3s off the pace.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport
The pace was set by Neuville’s nearest rival in the championship, Ogier. The Toyota driver took the stage win by 0.6s from Hyundai’s Tanak, while M-Sport’s Fourmaux was a further two tenths of a second back.
Ogier was however frustrated by the hanging dust he faced with crews split by three-minute gaps.
Katsuta also complained about the dust that affected the Japanese at the start of the stage before going on to set the fourth-fastest time, 2.7s adrift of Ogier and ahead of Sordo.
Munster dropped 21.6s in the stage but was also seen working on his Ford Puma that appeared to be suffering from a problem.
The test was later cancelled when…
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