By Giannis-Marios Papadopoulos
The EKO Acropolis Rally has made history, with Hyundai emerging as the standout performer, and the event is set to return for the 2025 race.
They say that “a coincidence that repeats itself, ceases to be a coincidence”. And Hyundai’s second “1-2-3” in the EKO Acropolis Rally in three years certainly cannot be a coincidence.
Only two years after its triumph at the EKO Acropolis Rally, Hyundai is back with a vengeance and has taken the podium. As in 2022, with the same trio of crews, but with a slight difference. Behind the big winners Thierry Neuville – Martijn Wydaeghe, this year Dani Sordo – Candido Carrera were second, with 2022 runners-up Ott Tanak – Martin Jarveoja completing the podium.
A small change, with a very big impact on the championship battle, as the points Neuville scored, combined with Tanak’s third place on one hand, and Ogier’s misfortune on the Wolf Power Stage, when his Toyota GR Yaris overturned due to his mistake on the other, bring the Belgian even closer to the coveted first world title of his career.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe celebrate
their victory at this year’s EKO Acropolis Rally
alongside the entire Hyundai team
The historic success of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid came after a marathon of special stages that pushed people and machines to their limits and required patience, a clear mind and character. In short, all the elements demonstrated by Neuville, who took the lead in the 9th special and stayed there, avoiding unnecessary risk, without deviating for a moment from his strategy and his well-conceived plan.
Battle for survival
From the very first special stage, it seemed that the EKO Acropolis Rally was going to be a battle for survival. Mechanical problems and punctures hit almost all the crews, with the shuffles being constant and the battles fully developed by the race finale.
First appearance in a race for the newly acquired Ford Fiesta
Rally3 of Stefanos Theocharopoulos, who in yet another
Acropolis had George Kotsalis next to him
ΕThere, at the second pass from “Eleftherochori“, not only the fate of the race was finally and irrevocably decided, but to a large extent also this year’s championship. A rare mistake cost Sebastien Ogier second place in the overall standings and deprived Toyota Gazoo Racing of valuable points in its bid for the Constructors’ Championship. At least the French driver managed to get his damaged GR Yaris Rally1 to the finish, minimising his losses, as, although 16th in the final standings, he reaped third-place points for the first two days of the race.
In the WRC2 category, Sami Pajari in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 had a puncture on the Wolf Power Stage, which cost him 28.5 seconds, exactly the same as his gap to Robert Virves in his Skoda Fabia RS! Although the two drivers had exactly the same time after 305 km of special stages, the victory was, according to WRC regulations, secured for Pajari, as he was faster in the first special stage of the race.
In the WRC3/JWRC category, Norbert Maior may have been the winner, but the Junior Championship title was won by Romet Jürgenson. With 11 fastest times in 15 special stages in his class, Armin Kremer in a Skoda Fabia RS left no room for doubt and scored another victory, bringing him closer to his goal of winning the WRC Masters Cup.
The Korean brand was the absolute dominant force in this year’s race
At the Greek level, Panagiotis Roustemis in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 was the fastest, finishing the race in 12th place overall. He was followed by Jordan Serderidis with the Ford Puma Rally1 and Themis Chalkias with the Renault Clio Rally3. In the two-wheel drive category, Savvas Lefkaditis with Peugeot 208 Rally4 was the winner.
Takamoto Katsuta saw his hopes for a strong finish at this year’s EKO Acropolis Rally vanish on Friday
when a driving error caused the rear right wheel of his Toyota Yaris to break
Hyundai dominated the winners’ podium, with
Neuville and Wydaeghe taking the top spot, flanked
by Sordo-Carrera and Tanak-Jarveoja. The awards
were presented to the winners by the Minister of
Sports, Giannis Vroutsis, while Maria Margariti
accepted the trophy on behalf of the manufacturers
The EKO Super Special Stage in “Seirios”
Syntagma Square, OAKA, Water Square and this year…“Seirios”. The task was not easy for the organisers ofthe EKO Acropolis Rally. Besides, to “cut” for almost one
day half of the main road axis of the country, to holdthe “Acropolis” Super Special Stage there, was not aneasy task.“Seirios” proved to be quite hospitable for the crews,as there were very few racing incidents. All this after very demanding day, with more than 100 kilometresof special stages and almost 600 kilometres of simple stages.
The images from “Seirios” were broadcast all aroundthe world. One could say that overall it was positivelycommented on, leaving a positive imprint on the overall image of the race. The EKO Super Special Stage was thehighlight of a very busy day and the 10,000 spectatorswho were there to watch the action gave the crews a
warm round of applause.
See you in 2025!
So the curtain has fallen! The most demanding an arduous EKO Acropolis Rally of recent years has passedinto history. A race that showed its relentless face to the
70 crews that climbed the starting ramp on Thursday 5 September, in the surrounding area of the Lamia TradeCenter, is now a thing of the past.
But it is probably fast approaching. The decision to holdthe 2025 EKO Acropolis Rally in the traditional “acropolis” period of June, namely between the 26th and 29th ofthe month, narrows the timeframe for its preparationconsiderably. Something that doesn’t seem to stress the people of Motorsport Greece, as the experience of the
previous four years shows that everything can be done and in the best possible way!
A spectacular scene unfolded during the nighttime
EKO Super Special Stage at «Seirios»
