However there was a late scare for Tänak on the powerstage
Photography by Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry
Ott Tänak has broken Toyota’s domination of the 2025 World Rally Championship season – claiming his, and Hyundai’s, first win of the year at Acropolis Rally Greece.
In another battle with Toyota driver Sébastien Ogier, this time Tänak was victorious (by 32.8 seconds). Adrien Fourmaux completed the podium in third – his first rostrum finish since January’s Monte Carlo Rally.
Ultra-hot temperatures and punishing roads made this year’s Acropolis an extreme challenge as the event moved from September to its more traditional date in June.
But Tänak was impervious to it all – combining canny management to devastating speed to deliver on the promise he showed in Portugal and Sardinia.
Ogier kept him honest – doing incredibly well from second on the road on Friday to be third overnight. However he didn’t have an answer to his friend and rival this time, who moved clear of Thierry Neuville on the all-time winners’ list with 22.
A late gearbox problem for Tänak on the powerstage did cause concern though, and meant Ogier swooped to all 10 bonus points winning both Super Sunday and the powerstage.
There was a late scare for Tänak on the powerstage, but he still managed to get the job done
Fourmaux had been a factor in the lead fight until he broke his rear-right suspension on Saturday morning, luckily on the final stage of the loop. From there he kept his head and checked his pace in order to deliver a podium.
Elfyn Evans was a trouble-free fourth, one spot ahead of Neuville who had anything but a trouble-free event.
Leading on Friday before a slow puncture, another puncture the other side of service left the world champion deflated. A power issue on the penultimate stage then kiboshed his attack for Super Sunday and powerstage points, but fifth place at least brought home some points.
“The beginning of the season has been tough but we do the same job as always – never give up and our time will come,” Neuville said.
The rest of the top-10 was filled by Rally2 cars – Oliver Solberg dominating WRC2 to assume the championship lead. Gus Greensmith and Yohan Rossel completed the podium.
Grégoire Munster had been poised to finish sixth for M-Sport, but a fuel-related issue forced him out of the final day and therefore into retirement.
Team-mate Mãrtiņš Sesks and Toyota’s Sami Pajari also retired on Friday with a similar problem – Pajair not emerging on Saturday as Toyota preferred to investigate the issue further.
Kalle Rovanperä however was the biggest name absent from the top-10. A combination of misjudged braking and a broken driveshaft led to his retirement on Saturday afternoon – team-mate Takamoto Katsuta also retiring on the same stage after getting his braking wrong downhill.
Both the Toyota drivers chose not to push for Super Sunday points on the final day, opting for a powerstage attack instead. But Katsuta – who’d sacrificed his road position with a four-minute early check-in to aid Rovanperä – cruelly picked up a puncture on that points-paying stage.
After stopping to change the wheel, Katsuta admitted he was driving “extra sideways” to clean the road for Rovanperä behind him,
Josh McErlean had a troubled weekend too – stopping to change a puncture on Friday and then damaging his suspension on Saturday’s opening stage, which also broke a driveshaft.
McErlean finished the rally in 12th.
In the world championship, Ogier is now just nine points adrift of Evans with Tänak 12 adrift. Rovanperä is 33 back with Neuville facing a 54-point deficit.
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Acropolis Rally Greece, Acropolis Rally Greece 2025, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date June 29, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/06/z5meyTA3-2025GREECE_AUS_3204-780x520.jpg June 29, 2025
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