Ott Tanak leads in Greece as WRC title rivals suffer

Ott Tänak overtook a wounded Sébastien Ogier to lead EKO Acropolis Rally Greece on Friday evening, capping an eventful day that could significantly impact this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title race.

Greece’s notoriously rugged gravel roads lived up to their punishing reputation, with four of the championship’s top-five drivers encountering trouble and dropping significant time. Tänak, however, piloted his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 through the chaos unscathed, topping a commanding Hyundai 1-2-3 overnight.

Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, who started this rally second in the points, was left 11.7sec clear of Tänak when M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux retired from second due to a broken steering arm on SS4. But disaster struck Ogier late in the day when a turbocharger issue cost the Frenchman around two-and-a-half minutes and relegated him to fourth.

Ogier’s misfortune compounded a disastrous day for Toyota. Team-mate Elfyn Evans dropped nearly nine minutes earlier in the day with a similar turbo issue, while Takamoto Katsuta retired on SS3 with rear suspension damage after mis-hearing a pacenote.

Explaining the situation, Toyota technical director Tom Fowler said: “It looks like Séb has lost the boost pressure from the turbocharger. We had Elfyn’s car this morning with the same symptoms.

“It’s a huge disappointment because, clearly, it’s another rally after Finland where we have really strong performance in the car. In Finland we didn’t capitalise on that, and it looks like here, again, we’re not going to capitalise on the potential performance that both the car and the drivers have.”

In stark contrast, Hyundai celebrated as Tänak led i20 N Rally1 colleagues Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville by 21.8 and 45.2sec respectively. As it stands, the Korean marque is poised to extend its advantage in the manufacturers’ championship.

“We’ve got to be thankful for a trouble-free day. It’s been tough with the heat and the rough conditions,” said Tänak, who currently sits third in the drivers’ standings. “It’s been a great day for Hyundai, but we all know there’s more to come.”

Sordo, making his first appearance since Rally Italia Sardegna in June, faced challenges of his own, managing a faulty hybrid unit throughout much of the afternoon. Championship leader Neuville also encountered issues, nursing an engine problem in the morning that left his car running on reduced power, but crucially headed Ogier by 1min 41.2sec overnight.

Elsewhere, M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster was forced to stop for a wheel change on SS6, allowing WRC2 frontrunners Robert Virves and Sami Pajari to climb to fifth and sixth overall. The pair also moved ahead of Yohan Rossel, who had dominated the WRC2 category in the morning before losing time due to a puncture.

Munster ended the day seventh with Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Fabrizio Zaldivar and Nikolay Gryazin rounding out the top 10.

The WRC2 battle culminated in Friday’s final stage when Estonian star Virves vaulted from fourth to first, snatching the lead after heartbreak struck Yohan Rossel.

Rossel, driving a Citroën C3 Rally2, dominated the day’s early stages, posting fastest times on the first five tests and building a commanding 46.5sec lead over his closest WRC2 rival. However, his fortunes took a dramatic turn on the Tarzan test when he was forced to stop after 11.9km to change a wheel, losing more than two minutes and tumbling to sixth in the standings.

Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Virves had been lying fourth before the final stage, but a sensational time — 11.1sec faster than anyone else — propelled him into the overnight lead, just 1.5sec ahead of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 ace Sami Pajari.

Remarkably, Virves wasn’t even expecting to compete in Greece just weeks ago. A crowdfunding campaign raised more than €50,000 from Estonian fans, enabling the 24-year-old to take part in the event.

With two days remaining of this FIA Junior WRC season, it is Romet Jürgenson with one hand tentatively placed on the championship trophy, completing Friday at the double-points paying EKO Acropolis Rally Greece in second place and importantly with breathing space over his closest title rivals.

Aiming to become the second Estonian to lift the trophy in the past three seasons, following in the footsteps of 2022 champion Robert Virves, Jürgenson safely navigated his M-Sport Ford-prepared Ford Fiesta Rally3 through some of the roughest Acropolis stages in recent memory, leading for large portions of the day.

But with his closest rivals for the title sitting further down the leaderboard, Jürgenson took a conservative approach to the second running of Tarzan, giving up the lead to reigning FIA Junior ERC champion Norbert Maior, who is targeting a maiden victory at world level.

Saturday’s leg promises more challenges, with six stages covering 116.23km on the unforgiving roads south of Lamia.