A Saturday, the one at the Acropolis Rally, the likes of which we hadn’t seen for some time. One twist after another, on a day that culminated with yet another event that upset the general classification of the event and, at this point, risks putting a tombstone on the Drivers’ World Championship.
Sébastien Ogier, leader of the Greek rally after the retirement of Thierry Neuville who arrived on SS10 due to the failure of the right front suspension, lost over 3 minutes to Kalle Rovanpera due to the failure of the left rear suspension of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
The 8-time world champion seemed to be able to manage the advantage over his teammate without too many problems, but after a right-hand hairpin the suspension collapsed, forcing Ogier and his co-driver, Vincent Landais, to get out of the car to understand what the problem was .
The crew initially thought the problem was related to a tire, but it turned out to be much more serious. So the two got into the car and managed to complete the test, but on three wheels. In all of this, due to the condition of the Yaris, the two rear tires came off their respective rims.
Rovanpera thus found himself catapulted to the top of the general classification in a race in which he was never really fighting for success. It was a matter between Neuville and Ogier, but both were let down by a suspension. Now the Finn can take home the victory and put an end to the fight for the Drivers’ world title. It won’t be mathematically, but at that point only a disaster on his part could lead him to lose the second title of his career.
With Ogier having slipped to fourth place in the general classification – furthermore the condition of his GR Yaris Rally1 remains to be verified – Dani Sordo and Elfyn Evans climbed onto the podium. The Spaniard from Hyundai Motorsport had already signed an excellent special, so much so that he overtook the Welshman and rose to third again. The inconvenience that occurred to Ogier has changed all perspectives, and he is now actually second, even if more than 2 minutes behind Rovanpera.
It will be difficult for Ogier to gain the podium again, because Evans now has over 1 and a half minutes ahead of him with 3 races left until the end of the Greek event.
Behind the top four, Ott Tanak overtook a disconsolate Esapekka Lappi. More than the pace of the Estonian, what created the current situation were the numerous problems that slowed Lappi down during the afternoon, including the breakdown of the transmission and the alternator which forced him to cede the Top 5 to the only M driver -Sport remained in the race among those behind the wheel of a Rally1.
Takamoto Katsuta was very cautious in completing SS12, because in the previous test he had lost both spare wheels, which were damaged. If he had lost another one, he would have been forced to retire. Instead he managed to manage a difficult day by finishing in seventh place, last among the P1 drivers.
Gus Greensmith seemed to have completed the day in style, but right at the moment, for just 4 hundredths, Andreas Mikkelsen took away the joy of finishing as leader in WRC2. The Norwegian won the last test of the day and overtook his teammate, relegating him to second place, but the fight will continue tomorrow, because the two remain just a hair’s breadth behind. Yohan Rossel, however, missed the chance for victory, ending the test with a puncture which put him over 1 minute behind the Skoda TokSport pair.
The second stage of this unpredictable Acropolis Rally ends here. The third and final stage will start tomorrow morning with Special Stage 13, the 23.37 kilometer Tarzan. The first car will enter the special at 07:19 Italian time.
WRC 2023 – Acropoli Rally – Ranking after SS12
Pos | Pilot/navigator | Car | Time/detachment | Penalty |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rovanpera/Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 2h29’40”5 | |
2 | Sordo/Carrera | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2’04″4 | |
3 | Evans/Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2’09″4 | |
4 | Ogier/Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +3’44″8 | |
5 | Tanak/Jarveoja | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | +4’49″7 | +3’40” |
6 | Lappi/Ferm | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +6’16″2 | |
7 | Katsuta/Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +7’02″2 | |
8 | Mikkelsen(Eriksen | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +8’51″1 | |
9 | Greensmith/Johnston | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +8’51″5 | |
10 | Rossel/Dunand | Citroen C3 Rally2 | +9’56″3 |
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