Sébastien Ogier delivered another masterclass to claim his 69th FIA World Rally Championship victory after an intense final-day battle with Thierry Neuville at the EKO Acropolis Rally Greece.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver and co-driver Vincent Landais overturned a narrow overnight deficit before capitalising on late drama to secure victory by 58.3 seconds. Ogier completed a flawless Sunday by winning the rally, claiming Super Sunday honours and setting the fastest time on the Wolf Power Stage.
The victory marked Ogier’s second triumph at the legendary Acropolis Rally, coming 15 years after his first success on the demanding Greek gravel roads.
Sunday Battle Decided by Punctures
Neuville entered the final day leading by just 4.1 seconds after surviving two punishing days around Loutraki. However, Ogier immediately reduced the gap by winning the opening Aghii Theodori stage to move into a slim 1.3-second lead.
The title rivals then produced identical stage times on the first pass through Loutraki, leaving everything to play for with only two stages remaining.
The decisive moment arrived on the second run through Aghii Theodori when Neuville suffered two rear punctures, costing the Hyundai driver more than 53 seconds.
With a comfortable advantage established, Ogier safely navigated the final Wolf Power Stage but still managed to record the fastest time to complete a dominant finish.
“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 Left Wondering
Neuville endured mixed emotions after leading the rally from Friday morning until Sunday’s opening stage.
The Belgian had looked set to hand Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team a fourth Acropolis victory in five years before the late punctures ended his hopes.
“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.”
Toyota Celebrates Strong Team Result
Toyota completed an impressive weekend with Takamoto Katsuta securing third place after surviving one of the roughest rallies of the season.
Running second on the road during Friday’s opening stages made life especially difficult, but the Japanese driver avoided costly mistakes while others encountered trouble.
“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.”
Career-Best Result for McErlean
Josh McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy produced one of the standout performances of the weekend by finishing fourth overall for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team.
Despite a late excursion on Aghii Theodori, the Irish pairing held off Sami Pajari by just 6.7 seconds to record their best-ever Rally1 finish.
“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 determined final-day charge, narrowly beating Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who endured another frustrating rally despite showing race-winning pace throughout the weekend.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans crossed the finish line seventh after struggling with the disadvantage of opening the road on Friday before losing additional time to wheel changes during the event.
Further down the order, Mārtiņš Sesks claimed eighth, while Robert Virves secured both ninth overall and victory in WRC2 after Andreas Mikkelsen lost valuable time changing a wheel on Sunday morning.
Championship Picture Tightens
Ogier’s maximum points haul lifts him to third in the drivers’ championship with 125 points.
Despite a difficult weekend, Evans remains championship leader on 158 points, although Katsuta’s podium finish reduces the gap to just seven points with six rounds remaining.
Toyota Gazoo Racing also strengthened its grip on the manufacturers’ championship by extending its advantage over Hyundai to 140 points after eight of the 14 scheduled rounds.
The FIA World Rally Championship now heads to the fast gravel roads of Delfi Rally Estonia in Tartu from 16 to 19 July.
Rally Classification
- Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) – 3h 36m 40.7s
- Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +58.3s
- Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m 04.8s
- Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m 55.5s
- Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +5m 02.2s
- Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m 08.7s
WRC Drivers’ Championship (After Round 8)
- Elfyn Evans – 158 points
- Takamoto Katsuta – 151 points
- Sébastien Ogier – 125 points