Ogier claims 69th WRC win in dramatic Greek finale

Sébastien Ogier claimed a dramatic EKO Acropolis Rally Greece victory after a gripping battle with Thierry Neuville swung decisively in the Toyota driver’s favour on Sunday.

Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais sealed victory by 58.3sec in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, completing a perfect Sunday with the rally win, Super Sunday honours and the Wolf Power Stage victory. It was Ogier’s 69th WRC victory and his second Acropolis triumph, 15 years after his first win on the Greek gravel classic.

Neuville had led into Sunday by 4.1sec after two bruising days around Loutraki, but Ogier overturned that deficit on the opening Aghii Theodori test and moved 1.3sec ahead. The pair then set identical times on Loutraki 1, keeping the gap unchanged with two stages remaining.

The deciding moment came on the second pass of Aghii Theodori, where Neuville suffered two rear punctures and lost 53.5sec to Ogier. From there, the Toyota driver only needed to bring the car through the final Loutraki Wolf Power Stage, but he still went fastest to complete a remarkable finish to the weekend.

“The Greek gods finally supported me,” Ogier said. “It’s been a long weekend. We knew that there was never any time to relax, right up to this Power Stage. I couldn’t push in there, I just drove as gently as I could and felt for every stone. But now we have it, and it’s a bit of payback from the one we lost in Portugal.”

Neuville was left with mixed emotions after a performance that had looked capable of delivering Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team’s fourth Acropolis win in five years. The Belgian had led from Friday morning until Sunday’s first stage and had been locked in a finely balanced fight with Ogier before his late setback.

“I am between disappointment and somehow a little bit of joy right now, because the car is performing well and we feel comfortable in it,” Neuville said. “Fair play to Ogier, he did an incredible race as well. We don’t know what would have happened without the puncture. But that’s rallying; in Portugal we profited from his puncture and now he does from ours.”

Ogier’s victory also capped a strong result for Toyota Gazoo Racing. Takamoto Katsuta completed the podium in third, 3min 04.8sec behind his team-mate, after surviving a difficult rally from second on the road on Friday and keeping out of trouble when others hit problems.

“It was quite tough in the beginning of this rally, so we tried our best to manage the situation,” Katsuta said. “Big thanks to all the team, the car had no issue all the rally. Also we were lucky with the punctures, because the risk is very high. Today is the most important day of my life because it’s my daughter’s birthday, so I’m very happy to bring a trophy for her.”

Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy secured a career-best fourth overall for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team after a composed drive through one of the season’s toughest events. The Irish crew had to survive a late off on Aghii Theodori 2 but held on to finish 6.7sec ahead of Sami Pajari.

“We definitely didn’t make it easy for ourselves,” McErlean said. “Massive thanks to the team and every person who is believing in us. It has been a tough start to the season. What a rally!”

Pajari finished fifth after a strong final day, edging Adrien Fourmaux by 6.5sec. The Finn also ended second on Super Sunday and second in the Wolf Power Stage behind Ogier.

“I gave it all I got,” Pajari said. “The beginning of the rally was tricky and also tricky to recover from that. It’s really rough, but I think it’s not different if you go 100% or 90%, because still something can happen.”

Fourmaux ended sixth after a weekend of strong pace but repeated misfortune. The Hyundai driver led the rally before suffering tyre damage Friday morning, remained in podium contention on Saturday and was pushing for Super Sunday points before further trouble on the final leg.

“I have to really say thanks to the team because we had a really good car which made us fight for the victory,” Fourmaux said. “I am very positive for the upcoming gravel rallies. We did some good times and had a good fight for the lead in the beginning.”

Championship leader Elfyn Evans finished seventh after a difficult weekend that began with the challenge of opening the road on Friday. The Welshman also lost time to wheel changes on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday morning, but still leaves Greece with his championship lead intact.

Mārtiņš Sesks finished eighth for M-Sport Ford, while Robert Virves claimed ninth overall and WRC2 victory. The Estonian moved into the category lead on Sunday morning when Andreas Mikkelsen stopped to change a wheel on Loutraki 1, then brought his Škoda home for a third career WRC2 win. Mikkelsen finished 10th overall and second in WRC2, with Alejandro Cachón 11th and third in class.

Ogier’s maximum haul moves him to third in the drivers’ championship on 15 points. Evans continues to lead with 158, while Katsuta’s podium slices the Welshman’s advantage to just seven points in second overall. Toyota Gazoo Racing also strengthens its manufacturers’ championship advantage, moving 140 points clear of Hyundai points after round eight of 14.

The WRC switches to high-speed gravel next month for Delfi Rally Estonia, based in Tartu from 16 – 19 July.

Rally Classification:
1. S Ogier / V Landais FRA Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3h 36m 40.7s
2. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +58.3s
3. T Katsuta / A Johnston JPN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +3m 04.8s
4. J McErlean / E Treacy IRL Ford Puma Rally1 +4m 55.5s
5. S Pajari / M Salminen FIN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +5m 02.2s
6. A Fourmaux / A Coria FRA Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +5m 08.7s

WRC Standings (After round 8 of 14):
1. E Evans 158pts
2. T Katsuta 151pts
3. S Ogier 125pts

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