WRC
Neuville and Ogier set for Acropolis showdown
Thierry Neuville will take a slender 4.1sec lead over Sébastien Ogier into the final day of EKO Acropolis Rally Greece after another dramatic leg on Saturday.
The Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team driver started the day 9.7sec clear of his Toyota rival and spent much of the leg trading seconds with the nine-time world champion across the Peloponnese stages.
At one point Neuville’s advantage grew back out to 10.8sec, but Ogier’s fastest time on the final Menalo Mt test brought the gap down again and set up a finely balanced Sunday finale.
Neuville ended the day with front-left damage to his i20 N Rally1, although he downplayed any concern when asked whether the car would make it back to overnight service.
“It’s not a problem,” said Neuville, when asked about the damage and a small fluid leak visible on his i20 N Rally1 at the end of the stage.
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The Belgian had looked strong earlier in the afternoon, responding to Ogier’s pressure with a superb time on the shortened second pass of Ghymno.
Ogier had been the faster of the pair through much of the morning, cutting Neuville’s lead to just 3.7sec before midday service. He then chose a bold tyre strategy for the afternoon, carrying only one spare, and closed the day with another stage win despite admitting that he was not prepared to take every risk.
“I still didn’t go full risk because of the [risk of] punctures,” Ogier said. “I had a clean drive but couldn’t really push so hard because of the people in front having the punctures.”
Saturday offered a different challenge from Friday’s rock-strewn opening leg. There was less exposed bedrock in places, but sandy roads, muddy sections beneath the trees, rough second-pass conditions and heavy road cleaning ensured the Acropolis remained every bit as demanding.
Behind the leading pair, the podium battle changed repeatedly.
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Adrien Fourmaux began the day third for Hyundai and showed strong pace again, winning Kolines and staying clear of the fights behind. But the Frenchman lost time changing a wheel on the shortened Ghymno stage and dropped behind Takamoto Katsuta.
Katsuta, who had spent the day balancing pace with caution, moved into third overall for Toyota and will start Sunday 2min 17.0sec behind Neuville.
“Really sorry for Elfyn,” Katsuta said after team-mate Elfyn Evans also hit trouble on the final stage. “I was very careful in some places with the bedrock. It’s really difficult and easy to get a puncture. Normally you know when you get it, but in here you just don’t know.”
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Fourmaux responded on Menalo Mt, pushing hard after learning of Evans’ delay and snatching fourth place back from Josh McErlean by just 1.0sec.
“The idea was to try and push the maximum to catch Josh to get a position for tomorrow,” Fourmaux said. “I knew about Elfyn, so I had to take my chance. I was very careful where they had a puncture as there was a big rock in the road.”
McErlean still completed an impressive day in fifth overall for M-Sport Ford. The Irishman avoided major problems while others hit trouble and remains on course for the best result of his WRC career.
“It’s been good, but it’s good to get back to service,” he said.
Sami Pajari moved up to sixth for Toyota, ahead of championship leader Evans, whose difficult Acropolis continued when he stopped to change a front-right wheel on the final stage. Evans lost 1min 50.2sec and slipped to seventh overall.
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“It came very unexpectedly,” Evans said. “The deflation was very sudden and I was very close to a crash as I couldn’t stop at the next corner.”
Dani Sordo is eighth overnight after also losing time with a deflation on the final stage, while Andreas Mikkelsen holds ninth overall and the WRC2 lead.
Mikkelsen ended Saturday 13.9sec clear of Toksport Škoda team-mate Robert Virves after another close day in the Rally2 fight. The Norwegian had to respond to pressure late in the day but will carry a useful advantage into Sunday’s four remaining stages.
Sunday brings two passes of Aghii Theodori and Loutraki, with the second run through Loutraki forming the Wolf Power Stage.
