"One of the toughest events of my career" - Halttunen on 2023 Acropolis

Halttunen and driver Kalle Rovanperä took what was eventually a comfortable victory over team-mates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, but the reigning world champion Finn admitted there was nothing comfortable about the three days of competition.

Heavy rain prior to the start of the rally had forced the organisers into a rethink of the itinerary, with bulletins issued re-routing the cars and offering daily video evidence of how the weather had impacted the roads following the recce.

“This has to be one of the toughest events of my career,” said Halttunen. “There were so many changes coming from the organisers because of the conditions. I think we had something like 11 bulletins and so many communications, this is a lot more than normal because of how the roads had changed after the rain.

“It was a difficult rally for the drivers, of course, but also for us. It’s not so easy when you are getting these changes and the videos coming in, you have to work on them – but at the same time we still have to do the normal job as well.

“The team did a fantastic job and I’m happy for this win.”

Halttunen praised the work of the organising team, adding: “They can be very proud for what they have done – it was not easy for them, but they were amazing.”