Ott Tänak is on the verge of delivering Hyundai Motorsport its first victory of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season after a commanding Saturday at the scorching EKO Acropolis Rally Greece.
The Estonian began the day with a slender -three-second advantage but blew the field apart in searing central Greek heat, claiming five stage wins out of six to establish a 43.6-second buffer over Sébastien Ogier heading into Sunday’s four-stage finale.
With temperatures rising and roads rapidly deteriorating, Tänak kept it tidy aboard his i20 N Rally1 while others hit trouble. He’s now perfectly placed to take his first win since Central European Rally last October – and is poised to climb to second in the championship depending on how Sunday unfolds.
“It’s great for us,” Tänak said. “The stages have been really demanding. The road position helped a lot and the car was working really well.”
Behind him, Ogier focused on consistency rather than chasing stage wins. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver edged Tänak by just 0.1 seconds in SS10 – the only stage Tänak didn’t top – but chose not to take unnecessary risks elsewhere. “It would be nice to push,” he admitted, “but the key here is staying out of trouble.”
Trouble is exactly what befell Adrien Fourmaux. The Frenchman had held second until an impact with a rock in SS10 damaged the rear suspension of his i20 N Rally1. He dropped over a minute and later reached the end of SS11 with a tyre off the rim. Despite the drama, he clung on to third overnight, 1min 24.4sec adrift of Tänak.
Elfyn Evans remained a distant fourth after a steady but unspectacular day. The Toyota man repeatedly described the conditions as “very rough” and ended the leg over three minutes off the lead – but with championship rival Thierry Neuville behind, Sunday’s bonus-point opportunities remain critical.
Further back, the Acropolis continued to punish. Kalle Rovanperä was running mid-pack before losing his brakes and going off in SS11, while Takamoto Katsuta also went off and became beached in the same test. Both Toyota drivers retired for the day.
It was another bruising leg for Neuville. After losing time to a puncture in the morning, the Hyundai man fought back into fifth overall – though still over a minute behind Evans.
“We had the pace,” Neuville reflected. “But three punctures [this weekend] didn’t allow us to do what we can.”
Grégoire Munster completed the leg sixth despite nursing a faulty handbrake throughout the day. Oliver Solberg continued to lead WRC2 in seventh overall with a comfortable buffer over Gus Greensmith, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Yohan Rossel.
Josh McErlean dropped to 13th after nursing a
