WRC
Opportunity knocks for M-Sport Ford in Acropolis “lottery”
New stages and a new location, but the same punishing rocky conditions have M-Sport Ford believing it can benefit from the “lottery” of EKO Acropolis Rally Greece.
Greece’s famous rough gravel stages will host the next round of the FIA World Rally Championship (25 - 28 June), with the event kicking off a run of seven consecutive gravel rallies that underpin the second half of the campaign.
The 2026 edition will span the Attica, Peloponnese and Central Greece regions and take in a mix of old, returning and new stages totalling more than 320km. The rally has also moved its base around 280km south from Lamia to Loutraki.
Known for its attritional conditions, staying out of trouble is just as important as outright speed in Greece. Starting lower down the road order could be even more advantageous this time, with five of the six tests on Friday’s opening leg being first-pass-only stages.
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M-Sport will field four Ford Puma Rally1 cars for the event, with full-time drivers Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong joined by Mārtiņš Sesks and Jourdan Serderidis. All four will start low down the road order.
Greece has proven to be one of the most successful events for M-Sport, which has taken eight wins on the Acropolis, beginning in 1997 with Carlos Sainz. Its most recent victory came in 2009, courtesy of Mikko Hirvonen.
Looking forward to returning to gravel, McErlean is eager to make the most of the opportunity.
“Greece is next and it is going to be hot, rocky and tough as per normal but I think that presents an opportunity as well with how much of a lottery it can become,” said McErlean.
“I think there will be a lot of new stages and a lot of first passes which should be good for us with our road position. It is going to be good.
“You never know what can happen in Greece and with road positions you can maximise it. There are rocks to avoid but it is one that we look forward to.”
McErlean’s team-mate Armstrong agrees, admitting that staying out of trouble could really pay off in Greece, which will mark only his second Acropolis start. The Northern Irishman’s previous experience of the rally came in Rally3 machinery when he finished second in the Junior WRC class in 2022.
“The last gravel rally in Portugal was tricky and in the end we went off the road,” said Armstrong. “I think if we have a similar approach to Japan then this rally can really pay off more given the risk of puncture and other issues. If we stay out of trouble then we could get quite a good result there.”
While the rough gravel stages of Acropolis Rally Greece are next on the agenda, M-Sport headed to Finland last week to prepare for the upcoming fast gravel rallies in Estonia (17 - 19 July) and Finland (30 July - 2 August).
