Sébastien Ogier began the afternoon lap of this first stage of the Acropolis Rally as he had ended the morning, by setting the fastest time on Special Stage 4, the 22.47-kilometre Ano Pavliani 2, thus increasing his lead over his closest pursuers in the overall standings of the event.
The 8-time Toyota world champion stopped the clock at 16’11″0, 1″9 better than the first of his pursuers, Ott Tanak. The Estonian rider, in addition to being the closest rival to Ogier in the race, also became the most dangerous for the native of Gap in the general classification of the event.
Adrien Fourmaux, who had finished the morning lap in second place and very close to Ogier, was forced to retire due to a broken front right suspension on his Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid.
It is not yet clear what forced the Frenchman to retire, destroying his suspension, but from an initial replay from the car’s camera car it seems that the suspension gave way due to a too sudden landing from a jump. No dangerous stones were seen in this sense, which is why, at least for now, the impact with the ground seems to be the main candidate for having forced Adrien to stop during the test.
This retirement opens the doors to second place for Tanak and the podium for Dani Sordo. The Spaniard, third in SS4, is now third in the general classification, taking advantage of the Frenchman’s retirement. Thierry Neuville also did the same, moving up to fourth place in the general classification, closing a trio of Hyundai i20 N Rally1s all behind Ogier’s GR Yaris Rally1.
Despite the retirements and breakdowns we have witnessed in these first 4 special stages, the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Yohan Rossel stands out in fifth place overall and first in the WRC2 class. The Frenchman continues to be the fastest among the Rally2s, beating Sami Pajari by more than half a minute. The Finn from Toyota will have to be careful, however, because behind him Gus Greensmith has become threatening again with the first Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. The gap between the two is now just 5″4.
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