WRC | Acropolis Rally, SS12: Neuville finishes in the lead. 1-2 Hyundai

Hyundai also takes home the second stage of the Acropolis Rally and does so convincingly, although far from perfect.

The day began with Ott Tanak ahead of Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville, a hat-trick that lasted the blink of an eye, considering the Estonian’s double wheel and tire failure on today’s first special stage.

At that point, with Tanak slipping to fourth place, the baton passed to Dani Sordo, who was good at taking advantage of the situation and being ready to lead the race. But his satisfaction was short-lived. A delaminated tire – the right rear – forced him to give up the lead to his teammate, Thierry Neuville.

The Belgian, who had his main rival for the world title, Sébastien Ogier, behind him, made sure to finish the tests without making any mistakes and this choice paid off. He found himself in command of a race (which he had already won 2 years ago) in which, at least on paper, he should have only had to defend himself from his opponents.

Instead, thanks to a good pace and, above all, the misadventures of his opponents and teammates, he found himself in the lead and was good at getting good times without taking any risks. Today he takes home the maximum possible loot and Dani Sordo’s second place helps him to distance himself by a few points from Sébastien Ogier, third.

Tomorrow, however, the Super Sunday will start and it will be interesting to understand not so much Ogier’s approach – he will have to attack with the aim of stealing points from Neuville – but that of the Belgian: will he be satisfied with the overall victory avoiding unnecessary risks or will he try to give the World Championship a blow which, all things considered, could turn out to be the decisive move?

Behind the top three, Ott Tanak completed the day in fourth place, the last Rally1 driver in the top 10 after Gregoire Munster retired after going off the road during today’s stage.

Elfyn Evans could have made it back into the Top 10, but on today’s penultimate stage he made a mistake that forced him to retire. Arriving at a rather narrow and downhill right-hand hairpin, the Welshman pulled the handbrake and the wheels of the left chain pivoted on a rut, causing the GR Yaris Rally1 to flip over. The damage suffered proved too extensive to continue.

Sami Pajari continues to lead the way in WRC2 at the wheel of the first Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The Finn, who had a trouble-free day, leads by 28.2 seconds over Robert Virves (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) and more than 55 seconds over the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Yohan Rossel.

The second leg of the Acropolis Rally ends here. The fourth-last event of the season will resume tomorrow morning with Special Stage 13, the 17.47-kilometer Inohori. The first car will enter the test at 07:59 Italian time.

WRC 2024 – Acropolis Rally – Standings after SS12