Thierry Neuville is edging closer towards his maiden WRC crown as finishing second at last month’s Rally Finland extended his advantage at the top.
The Hyundai driver arrived in Scandinavia with just an eight-point advantage over team-mate Ott Tanak, but a stage three crash has left the 2019 world champion 31 points behind Neuville.
Sebastien Ogier is now the Belgian’s closest challenger, as the Toyota driver, competing in a partial programme, trails him by 27 points after winning in Finland due to team-mate Kalle Rovanpera dramatically crashing from the lead during the penultimate stage.
But the eight-time world champion, who has only contested six of nine rallies this season, has dismissed the importance of clinching a record-equalling ninth crown because of the new points system.
At the end of Saturday, a sliding points scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 is awarded, but only if a crew reaches Sunday’s final classification. Additional points are then awarded to the top seven competitors on Sunday with first receiving seven points, while a sliding scale of 5-4-3-2-1 is also on offer for the weekend-closing Power Stage.
This new system left Ogier with the highest score in Latvia, despite only finishing second overall.
But Ogier will still compete in Greece despite his comments and he only has four rounds to overtake Neuville, who hasn’t won a rally since the Monaco season-opener.
Yet six top-five finishes since then have kept him at the top, during a season in which the wins have largely been shared between Ogier and reigning, double world champion Rovanpera.
They have both won three times this season, despite each only contesting a partial campaign and the Finn will not be present in Greece.
So, it is becoming a two-way fight for the title, as Finland was also costly for three-time championship runner-up Elfyn Evans who crashed during the penultimate stage leaving him 36 points behind Neuville.
The manufacturers’ championship is closer though, as Hyundai leads Toyota by only 20 points despite winning three fewer rallies this season.
But 168 points behind Toyota is M-Sport, who have only had two point-scoring cars this season compared to its rivals three.
M-Sport’s leading driver has been Adrien Fourmaux, whose fourth podium of the season in Finland has left him fifth in the championship and 49 points behind Neuville.
The British squad will be running a third car in Greece though, as pay-per-drive driver Jourdan Serderidis will be competing for the first time this season at his home rally.
When is Acropolis Rally Greece?
Date: 5-8 September
Start time: 5pm BST/7pm local time on Thursday 5 September 2024
The 2024 Acropolis Rally Greece officially starts on Thursday 5 September at 5pm in the United Kingdom and 7pm local time in the central Greek city of Lamia. However, at 7am BST that day is shakedown, where teams have the opportunity to test various car set-ups ahead of the weekend.
The next day, the rally's opening stage begins with the action starting at 6am in the UK and 8am local time.
|
Date |
Leg |
Leg total |
Start time |
|
Thursday 5 September |
Shakedown |
2.25 miles |
7am BST |
|
Thursday 5 September |
Ceremonial start |
N/A |
5pm BST |
|
Friday 6 September |
Stage 1 - Stage 3 |
41.95 miles |
6am BST |
|
Friday 6 September |
Stage 4 - Stage 6 |
41.95 miles |
12:30pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 7 - Stage 9 |
46.91 miles |
6:15am BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 10 - Stage 11 |
24.1 miles |
1:45pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 12 |
1.22 miles |
7:05pm BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
Stage 13 - Stage 14 |
22.22 miles |
7am BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
Stage 15 (Power Stage) |
11.36 miles |
11:15am BST |
How can I watch the WRC?
The UK’s WRC broadcast rights have belonged to TNT Sports since 2014, when it was known as BT Sport. That means every round of the 2024 championship so far has been televised by the subscription-based network, which will also live broadcast the rest of the season.
TNT Sports is available from £20 per month as part of a deal that includes all four sport channels, Eurosport 1 and 2, as well as its live-streaming platform Discovery+.
Rally.tv also broadcasts the WRC and it offers two deals: an annual subscription for £119.99 or a monthly pass for £12.99.
How can I watch Acropolis Rally Greece?
TNT Sports will start its Acropolis Rally Greece coverage on Friday 6 September at 5:45am BST for the opening two stages of the event. That means TNT Sports will not be broadcasting this weekend’s shakedown or ceremonial start.
The first five stages of the rally will be broadcast by TNT Sports 3, before TNT Sports 1 takes over for Friday’s final stage at 3:45pm BST. TNT Sports will use a similar pattern for the rest of the weekend, meaning it will be on and off with its coverage depending on the start time for each stage.
|
Date |
Leg |
Channel |
Coverage from |
|
Friday 6 September |
Stage 1 - Stage 2 |
TNT Sports 3 |
5:45am BST |
|
Friday 6 September |
Stage 3 |
TNT Sports 3 |
9:15am BST |
|
Friday 6 September |
Stage 4 - Stage 5 |
TNT Sports 3 |
11:45am BST |
|
Friday 6 September |
Stage 6 |
TNT Sports 1 |
3:45pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 7 |
TNT Sports 3 |
6am BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 8 - Stage 9 |
TNT Sports 3 |
8:30am BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 10 |
TNT Sports 4 |
1pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 11 |
TNT Sports 4 |
3pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Stage 12 |
TNT Sports 3 |
7pm BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
Stage 13 - Stage 14 |
TNT Sports 1 |
6:45am BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
Stage 15 (Power Stage) |
TNT Sports 1 |
11am BST |
How can I watch the Acropolis Rally Greece highlights?
TNT Sports will broadcast numerous 30-minute highlight programmes of the Acropolis Rally Greece weekend starting at 9pm (TNT Sports 4) and then 10:45pm (TNT Sports 2) on Friday.
Red Bull TV will also show highlights with its one-hour programmes running at 8pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. ITV4 is another destination for highlights, as it will also air a one-hour programme which is on Tuesday 10 September at 9pm.
Elsewhere, Autosport will have daily highlights of the action from Greece, as will the official WRC channels which upload clips throughout the weekend.
|
Date |
Channel |
Time |
|
Friday 6 September |
Red Bull TV |
8pm BST |
|
Friday 6 September |
TNT Sports 4 |
9pm BST |
|
Friday 6 September |
TNT Sports 2 |
10:45pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
TNT Sports 1 |
3am BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
Red Bull TV |
8pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
TNT Sports 1 |
9:30pm BST |
|
Saturday 7 September |
TNT Sports 3 |
10:30pm BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
TNT Sports 2 |
1am BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
TNT Sports 4 |
2:15am BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
TNT Sports 3 |
4:15am BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
TNT Sports 3 |
6:45pm BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
Red Bull TV |
8pm BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
TNT Sports 4 |
8:30pm BST |
|
Sunday 8 September |
TNT Sports 1 |
10:30pm BST |
|
Tuesday 10 September |
ITV4 |
9pm BST |
What is the route for Acropolis Rally Greece?
The Acropolis Rally Greece will have 15 special stages - the least of any round so far - covering a total competitive distance of 190.5 miles. Drivers will first tackle a 13.96-mile stage of Pavliani, a village in central Greece, on Friday morning before runs in Dafni (13.47 miles) and Tarzan (14.52 miles).
This 41.95-mile loop will be run again on Friday afternoon for stages four to six. It is another early start on Saturday, where stage seven sees the rally stay in central Greece for 17.81 miles of Rengini before heading south towards capital city Athens for Thiva (13.02 miles) and Aghii Theodori (16.07 miles).
The rally will return for stages 10 to 12 in the afternoon and evening, beginning with Loutraki (8.02 miles) and a second run of Aghii Theodori (16.07 miles), before a 1.22-mile super special stage on the outskirts of Athens completes the day.
Day three sees the action head back up north beginning with 10.9 miles around the village of Oinochori, before two 11.36-mile runs of Eleftherohori complete the rally.
Rally1 entry list for Acropolis Rally Greece
|
Team |
Driver |
Co-driver |
|
Hyundai |
Dani Sordo |
Candido Carrera |
|
Ott Tanak |
Martin Jarveoja |
|
|
Thierry Neuville |
Martijn Wydaeghe |
|
|
M-Sport |
Gregoire Munster |
Louis Louka |
|
Adrien Fourmaux |
Alexandre Coria |
|
|
Jourdan Serderidis |
Frederic Miclotte |
|
|
Toyota |
Sebastien Ogier |
Vincent Landais |
|
Takamoto Katsuta |
Aaron Johnston |
|
|
Elfyn Evans |
Scott Martin |
