Often referred to as the ‘European Safari’ given the arduous road conditions, this weekend’s World Rally Championship Acropolis Rally is likely to be even tougher than its African counterpart.
WRC drivers are set to face possibly the roughest Acropolis Rally in recent memory thanks to series of contributing factors that has resulted in much rougher stage conditions.
The Greek round of the WRC is renowned for being one of its toughest but some of this weekend’s field believe the rally will be more challenging than Kenya’s Safari Rally, regarded as the WRC’s toughest event.
Long periods of dry hot weather have made it difficult for organisers to repair and prepare the gravel roads before hosting round 10 of the 2024 season. As a result the stages are much rougher, with more loose rocks and bedrock for competitors to navigate through in searing heat.
The road conditions have significantly increased the risk of punctures and damage to cars. It’s a stark contrast to last year’s event that was plagued by Storm Daniel, which forced organisers to cancel shakedown due to flooding.
“We haven't seen a Rally Acropolis this rough for many years,” said Toyota team principal Jari- Matti Latvala.
“I think in 2009, this rally was extremely rough and there was many retirements, so it will be something like this.
“The past years has been quite smooth, but now it hasn't rained so the organisers haven't been able to really repair the roads, because you need the rain to push the material into the ground and they were not able to do that.
“So now it's a matter of tactics. You try to be smart with your driving.
“It's not about having an attack all the time. The strategy of the drivers is going to be in a key element.”
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier believes the stages are even rougher than those on Safari Rally Kenya, admitting that he struggled to pick a safe line through the rocks on the pre-event recce.
“I think it is [rougher than Kenya] because there are some sections where it's just full of rocks everywhere so there is not much you can do,” Ogier told Autosport.
“It's very hard to pick a strategy to avoid them, there is no chance to avoid them.
“When in Kenya I felt that you can manage your risk by the line you take and everything; here there are sections full of rocks and you feel powerless in this situation.
“In some places on the recce I just stopped and I watched; I just didn’t know where to pass through the road. I didn’t know what is the best [option].”
Hyundai’s championship leader Thierry Neuville, who holds a 27-point advantage over Ogier and announced a one-year contract extension today, conceded that he will take a different approach considering his title aspirations.
“You always have those three or four guys who go for it and definitely one will get through like always, maybe two, and then there's only one spot of the podium left,” Neuville told Autosport.
“For us, the approach will be different. We will keep an eye on our championship rivals.
“We don't know what their approach is and Ogier probably has less to lose, but still he's involved in the fight for the manufacturer championship.
“I think on a rally like this, Ogier has generally a clever approach and we will try to find a good balance. Some other drivers might go for it.
“For the risk and for the lottery, it is tougher than Safari. At the Safari Rally you have dips but you brake, you go through, and you carry on.
“But here you will find a lot of things on the road, which you haven't seen before, and that's it.”
Is the Acropolis Rally verging on being too rough?
While the Acropolis Rally has a storied history for being Europe’s toughest rally, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener says organisers must be wary not to make the event too difficult.
“The FIA has been pushing for this event to be as rough as it has been for a few years, so let's see what happens,” said Millener.
“I'm on the fence with it. I think, yes, there's an element of endurance to this, but I just hate losing cars.
“The minute you lose cars, even if you can repair broken suspension and things like that, your battles are gone.
“I don't like events that end up with big gaps between the cars. OK, there's still the Sunday points to fight for, which takes some of that away.
“We also just have to be careful we don't make it rough to test out the Rally1 cars we also have the Rally2 and Rally3 cars.”
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