Hyundai takes the lead on Friday afternoon in Greece and heads into Saturday with the Tänak/Fourmaux duo in the lead
Scorching heat and extremely rough stages made Friday’s Acropolis Rally in Greece, the seventh round of the 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC), a real elimination race – with Ott Tänak at the top of a Hyundai one-two. After six grueling gravel stages, the Estonian is 3.0 seconds ahead of teammate Adrien Fourmaux. Sebastien Ogier in the Toyota is in third place (+16.9 seconds).
The day turned out to be one of the toughest stages of the WRC season so far: temperatures in the cockpit climbed to 70 degrees Celsius, while rutted tracks and sharp surfaces caused numerous tire failures among the Rally1 cars.
Without a single fastest time, but with consistent pace and clever risk management, Tänak took the lead from Ogier in the afternoon. Although he lost time in the afternoon when a tire came off the rim, he was spared major problems unlike many of his competitors. The balance of his Hyundai i20 also caused him problems throughout the day. “We had a clean day, that’s the most important thing,” said Tänak.
Fourmaux clever on the road – Ogier loses lead
Fourmaux was the only Rally1 driver to get through the day without a puncture. The Frenchman benefited from his starting position and a well-thought-out strategy. Three fastest times underlined his performance – and on the sixth stage he moved past Ogier into second place.
Ogier, on the other hand, was initially the man of the morning. Despite starting early, he took the lead on the second special stage and held on to it, even though both he and Neuville suffered tire damage. Ogier’s defect occurred just 200 meters before the finish, while Neuville decided not to change tires and lost a whopping 39.5 seconds. “I gave it my all today,” Ogier summed up. “Considering the conditions, we can be satisfied.”
Evans, Rovanperä, and Neuville battle with damage
World championship leader Elfyn Evans was hit hardest: as the first driver on the road, the Welshman had little grip, lost time on the fourth stage due to a puncture, and also complained of steering problems. Nevertheless, he fought his way up to fourth place (+1:21.5 minutes), while many of his rivals had even bigger problems.
Nice and smooth on camera from the heli. Absolutely brutal on the speedo WRC AcropolisRally pic.twitter.com/nKiIWB1Eoh
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) June 27, 2025
Kalle Rovanperä got off to a mixed start to the day. The Finn initially struggled to find the right balance in his GR Yaris before the suspension gave way: damage to the steering cost him time. This was followed by a puncture in the afternoon. As a result, he dropped back to seventh place.
Neuville himself described his Friday as a “disaster.” First a tire puncture in the morning, then another on the fifth stage, left him far behind. At least he finished the day with a best time and in eighth place.
Munster strong, Katsuta and Solberg in the top 10
Gregoire Munster impressed in the M-Sport Ford with fifth place, despite suffering two punctures on the fourth stage. Team-mate Josh McErlean, on the other hand, lost over two minutes due to defects.
Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta drove solidly after an early puncture and is in sixth place. The best WRC2 driver is Oliver Solberg in ninth place – the Swede mastered Friday’s challenges without any mistakes.
Two Rally1 cars did not make it to the finish line on Friday: Toyota youngster Sami Pajari was in a strong fifth place when a technical defect forced him to retire. M-Sport driver Martins Sesks retired with a fuel system problem.
On Saturday, the Acropolis Rally will feature two loops of three special stages covering a total of 123.44 kilometers.