WRC
Tänak breathes sigh of relief after Acropolis escape
Ott Tänak admitted his Acropolis Rally Greece win came with more stress than celebration after nursing his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 back to the final time control with gearbox issues.
The Estonian looked set to wrap up a dominant weekend, having led from Friday afternoon and carried a 48.8-second buffer into Sunday’s Wolf Power Stage. But a late gearbox issue left him without third gear and making “bad noises” in others – forcing Tänak to finish the stage at a reduced pace.
Despite still leading at the flying finish, Tänak’s rally remained in jeopardy with 56 kilometres of liaison still to cover. He and co-driver Martin Järveoja made it back to Lamia, just, to record their first win of the season and end Hyundai’s victory drought stretching back to the 2024 Central European Rally.
“I was very worried,” Tänak admitted. “I mean, it didn't look so good. First, I lost the third gear, and then I started to get some bad noise on the other gears as well. Even if we crossed the finish line, we still had 50 kilometres to go – it was too stressful for a victory, but in the end, it’s a big relief.
“And I mean, also for the team, this victory was so much needed. Clearly, the pressure was there to win the rally, and I am happy to achieve it.”
Tänak had managed the gap to Sébastien Ogier throughout Sunday, keeping just enough in reserve in case of issues.
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“Ogier was pushing from behind, so it’s never an easy life and you can never really back off,” he explained. “I always tried to keep some margin in case something happened – and obviously, it was needed in the end. I’d say it was quite well played.”
Victory in Greece lifted Tänak to third in the drivers’ standings – three points behind Ogier and 12 off leader Elfyn Evans. But with his home event in Estonia next, the 2019 world champion was quick to play down expectations on fast gravel.
“Unfortunately, from here we have nothing to take to Estonia,” he said. “I’ve never driven this car on a fast surface, so first we need to see where we are. Estonia is a fun place to drive, also but the car needs to be performing.”
Tänak and Järveoja will head to Finland this week for pre-event testing ahead of Delfi Rally Estonia (17 – 20 July).
