Acropolis Rally – Day One Report

• Hyundai Motorsport has enjoyed a positive start to Acropolis Rally with its three crews in provisional first, second and third after six rough and rocky stages
• Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja hold an early lead after a solid performance on a challenging Friday, which featured high temperatures and abrasive conditions on the roads
• Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville both overcame technical issues to finish the day in second and third respectively.

Lamia, Greece

September 6, 2024 – Hyundai Motorsport’s Ott Tänak leads Acropolis Rally, round ten of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship, with team-mates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville occupying the remaining provisional podium places at the end of the opening day.

Six stages featured on Friday in Greece, with two tests of Ano Pavliani (SS1/4, 22.47km), Dafni (SS2/5, 21.67km) and Tarzan (SS3/6, 23.37km). While the end of day classification is a positive finish for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, it was by no means smooth sailing: the event has remained true to form as one of the most treacherous rallies of the season, with many crews already falling victim to the punishing nature of Acropolis.

Tänak and Järveoja had a trouble-free morning loop, but felt their tyre choice and car setup had been too conservative for the final stage. Having been second fastest on the first two stages of the day and holding a slim lead of 0.2 seconds, the Estonians slipped to third overall after SS3 Tarzan 1.

Where others then felt the full force of Acropolis, Tänak seemed able to master the tricky conditions. He moved up to second overall after SS4 before a stage win on SS5 Dafni 2 propelled him back into first after issues for Sébastien Ogier. A solid run through SS6 Tarzan 2 confirmed the Estonians as the overnight leaders heading into Saturday.

Dani Sordo admitted he felt faster in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid in the morning loop than the timesheets showed, but a consistent run saw him head into mid-day service in fourth overall. As troubles befell both Adrien Fourmaux and Ogier, the Spaniard kept his nose clean – despite losing hybrid power for the entire afternoon loop – to move into second position. His efforts also confirmed a team 1-2 on SS5 (Tänak/Sordo) and 1-2-3 on SS6 (Neuville/Sordo/Tänak).

A misfiring engine plagued Belgian crew Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe in the first three stages, who ended the morning in fifth despite having only three cylinders. The team worked hard to successfully rectify the issue in service, enabling Neuville to fight with the full force of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. The Belgian’s stage win to lead the Hyundai Motorsport 1-2-3 in stage on SS6 Tarzan was a final flourish to Friday.

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

• Estonians established early pace and hold a 21.8-second lead
• Stage win on SS5 and five top-three stage times scored on Friday

Tänak said: “No question, today has been a very demanding day and we are very grateful to come through without any dramas or issues. All in all, it has been a positive day for us but we know very well there is still a long way to go, and how hard it is to do the same job for the rest of the weekend. Until Ogier had his issue, we were trying to find the right balance in the car to fight him, and on the stage he hit trouble we managed to improve the car. It was a lot better for the last two stages, but this rally is not only about performance; you also need the reliability to bring the car home. We are happy we managed to do it today but we still need to keep our heads down.”

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

• Spaniards score four top-three stage times on Friday
• Crew ends the day in superb second place despite lack of hybrid

Sordo said: “Overall, a positive day for us. We had a hybrid issue on the last three stages so we weren’t taking any risks to make sure we didn’t break anything on the car, but despite this our times were good. When we knew Ogier had problems we still drove as normal to make sure we made no mistakes, but it was not simple; it was really hot in the car, and it was a very demanding day. Tomorrow will be another long one, with a lot of road section as well as lengthy stages, which will make it even trickier. We’ve completed day one and we enjoyed it, and now we focus on doing the same again tomorrow.”

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

• Belgians bounce back from engine troubles to finish the day in third
• Stage win on final test demonstrates reliability and pace of Hyundai i20 Rally1 Hybrid

Neuville said: “It was a challenging day out there, fighting in tough conditions and very hot weather; I was struggling sometimes to concentrate at the end of stages. It wasn’t a trouble-free run for us but we were consistent and just trying to follow the approach we set ourselves before the rally. We focused on our speed and not getting frustrated if the cleaning effect lost us time, and we avoided being too harsh on the car in rough sections. We had some technical issues this morning but the team solved it quickly and we didn’t lose too much ground. In the position we are in, there is no need to take too much risk: we knew it would be a long day and it is still a long rally, which is why we need to keep the same approach.”

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Obviously finishing day one in Greece in first, second and third is a great feeling – but it is important we remember this is a provisional classification. When you look at the number of incidents that occurred today, you know there will be more coming in everyone’s direction. Today we have been privileged but also responsible for our own destiny in avoiding most of the challenges that others suffered. Let’s see what the rest of the weekend will bring; our focus will be on maintaining the great team effort we’ve shown thus far.”

Saturday at a Glance

• Saturday’s itinerary is designed to be demanding: the morning loop begins with Rengini (28.67km) followed by a sole run of Thiva (20.95km) and the first attempt of Aghii Theodori (25.87km).
• After a tyre fitting zone, crews then head to Loutraki (12.90km) and the second Aghii Theodori test before action concludes in the evening with the EKO SSS (1.97km)

Classification after Day One

1	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	1:40:16.9
2	D. Sordo	C. Carrera	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+21.8
3	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+45.2
4	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+2:26.4
5	R. Virves	A. Lesk	Škoda Fabia RS	+3:10.9
6	S. Pajari	E. Mälkönen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally2	+3:12.4
7	G. Munster	L. Louka	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+4:08.4
8	K. Kajetanovic	M. Szczepaniak	Škoda Fabia RS	+4:09.0
9	F. Zaldivar	M. Der Ohannesian	Škoda Fabia RS	+4:19.7
10	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Citroën C3	+4:22.5