Ogier takes WRC Acropolis Rally Greece win as tire dramas dash Neuville chances

Sebastien Ogier claimed WRC Acropolis Rally Greece victory after a gripping battle with Thierry Neuville swung decisively in the Toyota driver’s favor on Sunday’s final leg.

Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais sealed the overall victory by 58.3s in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, and completed a perfect final day with maximum points from Super Sunday and the rally-closing Wolf Power Stage. It was Ogier’s 69th FIA World Rally Championship victory, but only his second Acropolis triumph, some 15 years after his first win on the Greek gravel classic.

Neuville had led into Sunday by 4.1s after two bruising days around Loutraki, but Ogier overturned that deficit on the opening 15.78-mile Aghii Theodori test and moved 1.3s ahead. The pair then set identical times over the 10.32 miles of the Loutraki 1 stage, 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 on his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and lost 53.5s to Ogier. From there, nine-time and reigning WRC champ Ogier only needed to cruise his GR Yaris 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,” said Ogier. “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 [on the penultimate stage to Neuville].”

WRC G.O.A.T. Sebastien Ogier had to wait 15 years for his second Acropolis win. With it, the nine-time and reigning champ moves to third in 2026 points.

Neuville was left with mixed emotions after a performance that had looked capable of delivering Hyundai a 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 poised 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,” said the 2024 WRC champ. “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.”

Thierry Neuville was buoyed by his Hyundai’s competitiveness on gravel, but frustrated at losing out on a potential victory. Red Bull Content Pool

Ogier’s victory also capped a strong result for Toyota Gazoo Racing’s factory fleet. Takamoto Katsuta completed the podium in third, 3m04.8s behind his teammate, after starting second on the road on Friday – a disadvantage on the loose, rough gravel – but 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,” said Katsuta. “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.”

M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy secured a career-best fourth overall in their Puma Rally1 after a composed drive through one of the season’s toughest events. The Irish crew had to scramble back from a late off on Aghii Theodori 2, but held on to finish 6.7s ahead of Sami Pajari’s Toyota.

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

Josh McErlean earned a WRC career-best fourth overall in a confidence-boosting weekend for M-Sport Ford. Red Bull Content Pool

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

“I gave it all I’ve got,” said Pajari. “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 percent or 90 percent, because still something can happen.”

Fourmaux ended sixth after a weekend of potentially rally-winning pace, but repeated misfortune. The Frenchman, who’s still seeking a first WRC victory, led the rally before suffering tire damage on Friday morning. He 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,” said Fourmaux. “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.”

WRC points leader Elfyn Evans finished seventh after a difficult weekend that began with the challenge of opening the road on Friday in his GR Yaris and playing road sweeper for the cars behind. 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, if reduced.

After battling back from various challenges, Rally1 part-timer Martins Sesks finished eighth overall for M-Sport Ford in a confidence-boosting weekend for the British-based team.

Ogier’s maximum haul moves him to third in the WRC drivers’ standings on 112 points. Evans continues to lead with 158, but Katsuta’s podium reduces the gap to just seven points. Toyota Gazoo Racing also strengthens its manufacturers’ championship advantage, moving 140 points clear of Hyundai points after round eight of 14.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Robert Virves and co-driver Jakko Viilo brought their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 home ninth overall and first in class. The Estonian duo finished 1m02.4s clear of Toksport teammate and erstwhile leader Andreas Mikkelsen after a dramatic final day.

Mikkelsen had led the category overnight and began Sunday with a 13.9s advantage over Virves. The Norwegian looked well placed to defend that margin until the first pass of Loutraki, where he stopped to change a wheel after striking a rock on the outside of the road.

That handed the lead to his teammate, who’d already been applying pressure throughout Saturday. Virves then survived a late scare on Aghii Theodori 2, where his left-rear tire lost pressure in the closing miles, but completed the rally to secure a hard-earned victory on the rough Greek gravel.

“That is actually a shame because it would have been nice to end the fight in a fair way,” said Virves after Mikkelsen’s delay. “That’s rallying sometimes, especially on roads like this. I’m sorry for him.”

Alejandro Cachon’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 completed the class podium, while fourth for Roope Korhonen in a similar Yaris was enough to move him into the WRC2 points lead, three clear of Cachon.

Robert Virves had started his Sunday second in WRC2, but issues for Toksport Skoda teammate Andreas Mikkelsen delivered the class win. Red Bull Content Pool

Next up, the WRC heads to the Baltic region for two back-to-back high-speed gravel rallies. Rally Estonia, based in Tartu, runs July 16-19, followed by the “Gravel Grand Prix,” Rally Finland, July 30-Aug. 2.

WRC Acropolis Rally Greece, final positions after Sunday/Leg Three, SS17
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h36m40.7s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +58.3s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m04.8s
4 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m55.5s
5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +5m02.2s
6 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m08.7s
7 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +5m54.9s
8 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +8m05.8s
9 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 winner) +9m50.1s
10 Andreas Mikkelsen/Jorn Listerud (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +10m52.5s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 8 of 14 rounds
1 Evans 158 points
2 Katsuta 151
3 Ogier 125
4 Pajari 114
5 Oliver Solberg 103
6 Fourmaux 97   

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 8 of 14 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 416 points   
2 Hyundai Word Rally Team 276 
3 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 126
4  M-Sport Ford 107 

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