Thierry Neuville sleeps as the first leader of the Acropolis Rally Greece after a super special stage at the London Olympic Stadium in which the Hyundai drivers managed to take the first four positions with the help of Teemu Suninen.
The Acropolis Rally is one of the most complex gravel events of the season, but it started on asphalt at the Olympic Stadium in Athens with a super special little. And talking about this type of stage is synonymous with talking about a pilot. Thierry Neuville has achieved the first scratch in Greece and sleeps leader of the Acropolis.
Neuville moves like a fish in water in this type of super special and once again he has shown it again with his best time in SS1 of the Acropolis Rally. The public that filled the Olympic Stadium in Athens has witnessed the good performance of the Belgian, who has closed the stage with a time of 1:58.4, a record with which has surpassed Teemu Suninen by a tenth.
The direct duel between Andreas Mikkelsen and Yohan Rossel in WRC2 has ended with drama for the Norwegian driver
A minimal difference, more if you take into account that Teemu Suninen races a ‘Rally2’. However, in such a rattling section it is normal that the cars in the silver category have slipped in among the best, since the performance is equal and the championship roosters avoid taking risks. A circumstance that has drawn a totally unexpected Hyundai 1-2-3-4.
To Neuville’s scratch and Suninen’s second place at the wheel of the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 has been added Dani Sordo’s third place and fourth place for Ott Tänak. A perfect start for the South Korean firm in a super special in which Emil Lindholm has also left his mark with the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. For its part, Sébastien Loeb has finished sixthalthough with the same time as Gaurav Gill.
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Procedure with proper names
While Neuville, Sordo, Tänak or Loeb have finished in 1.3 seconds, other drivers have chosen to limit risks. For example, the leader Kalle Rovanperä has not passed the eighth place after losing 1.5 seconds, while Craig Breen or Pierre-Louis Loubet are not even in the top ten.
Nor is Elfyn Evans in the top ten. In fact, the Welsh driver has lost 2.5 seconds, knowing that the real action at a competitive level starts tomorrow with the dispute over six gravel sections that will serve to make much bigger differences. Same approach, even more radical, have followed Gus Greensmith and Takamoto Katsuta.
From Suninen’s success to Mikkelsen’s error
Beyond Teemu Suninen’s scratch and the good performance of several drivers with ‘Rally2’ or R5 vehicles, the silver category experienced its first dramatic moment. Andreas Mikkelsen made a rookie mistake when facing with too much impetus the bridge present in the route and left front suspension broke of his Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. The Norwegian could not finish the stage.
Though Yohan Rossell finished the stage in eleventh position among the participants in the WRC2 category, Mikkelsen’s abandonment It puts you in a great position to claim the silver class title. For now, Andreas will rejoin the event due to the ‘super rally’ regulations, but he practically says goodbye to his chances of revalidating the title that he won in 2021.
Classification after SS1 of the 66th Acropolis Rally GREECE
The Acropolis Rally continues this Friday (06:53 a.m.) with the dispute of the first stage of the test. Pilots and co-pilots will dispute 108.31 kilometers against the clock.
Photos: FIA WRC