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HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT RETURNS TO ROUGH GRAVEL FOR THE LEGENDARY ACROPOLIS RALLY

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Hyundai Motorsport Preview: Round 10 – Acropolis Rally  

  • Hyundai Motorsport returns to rough gravel for the legendary Acropolis Rally (September 5-8), which will cover 305.30km of competitive distance amongst idyllic Greek scenery  
  • Accurate pace notes and precision driving are crucial to performing well at the Mediterranean event, where Hyundai Motorsport looks to continue its recent podium streak
  • Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team welcomes back Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera alongside Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe and Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja.

Alzenau, Germany

August 30, 2024 – Following back-to-back podiums in Latvia and Finland, Hyundai Motorsport is gearing up for more as it heads to Greece for Acropolis Rally, round ten of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season.

After battling with the unpredictable, fast gravel of Rally Finland, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team left the event having extended its lead in both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championship by 27 and 20 points respectively. As the WRC season enters its final rounds, Acropolis Rally will be pivotal in the team’s battle to win all three championships.

Extremely abrasive gravel and scorchingly hot temperatures make Greece one of the most challenging locations on the WRC calendar. 305.30 kilometres of rough surfaces will demand precision driving and tyre management from crews, with even the slightest of mistakes punished severely. 15 unforgiving stages form the itinerary, including one loop of the weekend’s longest stage: SS7 Rengini (28.67km).

Hyundai Motorsport’s line-up will see the return of Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera for their first event since claiming a podium at Rally Italia Sardegna. They join Estonian duo Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, who are looking to get their championship fight back on track following an early exit from Rally Finland. Both crews will be competing alongside 2024 WRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ championship leaders Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe. In preparation for the rough and demanding roads of Greece, all three crews took part in a pre-event test with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid in mid-August.

Acropolis Rally has produced gold for the team in the past, with a total of five podiums and one victory scored at the event. In 2022, the team secured its best ever finish in a WRC round with a 1-2-3 finish (Thierry Neuville-Ott Tänak-Dani Sordo). Estonians Tänak and Järveoja also finished on the podium in 2021, missing out on the top step by just 42.1 seconds, with team-mates Sordo and Cándido just behind them in fourth. With the same three crews as the emphatic 2022 podium sweep, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team is targeting a strong showing to maintain momentum for the crucial third act of the season.

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Following a very mixed weekend in Finland, we are going to Greece searching for improved results as a team. Of course we want to win the rally, however crucially we need to be at the top of the standings on Saturday and take as many points as possible from Super Sunday. It is vital that we keep our focus at event like this: we cannot afford to make any mistakes, both with strategy and on the stages. Our pre-event test was essential for getting our three crews into the rhythm for the rough gravel, and we are confident that the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid is ready to take on Greece’s demanding stages. We’ve demonstrated the improved performance of the car at fast gravel events, and now our goal is to finish strong at Acropolis Rally and maintain our lead in all three standings.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/ Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

  • Belgians contest Acropolis Rally leading drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships
  • Crew looking to build on momentum from their second-place finish in Finland

Neuville said: “Acropolis Rally is a very challenging and long event. In the car, we can suffer a lot from the heat and the roughness of the terrain. The stages are always changing, so we come across a variety of profiles throughout the weekend. I enjoy this rally a lot, I like the technicalities of managing tyres and the car, and the roads are very different to what we usually see on a weekend. For a strong weekend, we need a good mix of performance, precision and protection from the car setup; strong rims are also a necessity to protect tyres as much as possible. We are still leading the fight for the championship, so it is important to score as many points as possible without pushing too hard and risking the entire weekend. Our car is strong and we usually perform well in Greece, so hopefully we can do the same this year.”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

  • Estonian pairing looking to bounce back after early exit in Finland
  • Crew previously secured two podiums in a Hyundai in Greece

Tänak said: “The profile at Acropolis Rally is nice: the roads are wider than Portugal and Sardinia and the surface is rougher and slower, conditions in which the car has been previously performed well. This is an event you can enjoy as a driver, but the rough gravel can make the loop quite demanding for both the car and crew. You need to have a well calibrated car to get a good rhythm and the better the feeling in the car, the easier it is to do a good job. You need to be able to trust it while still feeling the limits. Martin and I are definitely looking forward to a strong result for the team and for ourselves to keep us in the championship fight.”

Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera(#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

  • Spaniards looking to add to their two podiums from Portugal and Sardinia
  • #6 crew returns to the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid for third event of the season

Sordo said: “I have a lot of confidence heading to Acropolis Rally; we got some valuable time in the car during the pre-event test and I have done well here in the past. The heat and the road conditions can massively affect our performance, so our setup needs to be different to how we have run at previous rough gravel events. A higher car is crucial to surviving the stages and avoiding an early retirement by hitting a large rock or a hidden rut – or both. All three championships are tight, so I know we need to do whatever we can to help the team, and we are hoping for the best finish possible in Greece.“

Weekend at a Glance

  • Acropolis Rally commences with a ceremonial start in Lamia on Thursday evening
  • Friday’s challenges begin with SS1 Ano Pavliani (22.47km) and continue across a further five stages, totalling 135.02km
  • 116.23km of competition on Saturday is rounded off with SS12 EKO SSS, a 1.97km sprint in the evening
  • Three stages conclude the rally on Super Sunday, with the 18.29km SS15 Eleftherohori 2 acting as the weekend’s Power Stage.
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