This year's EKO Acropolis Rally is written in gold letters in history. Not only because it played a leading role in the World Rally Championship, nor (only) because of the tens of thousands of spectators who welcomed the competitors in OAKA. But mainly because for the first time in its history, Hyundai Motorsport, after eight years of full involvement as a manufacturer, achieved its first "1-2-3" in the event!
It was the superspecial stage in OAKA -which upgraded the image of the whole institution on Thursday night- and the universal domination of Hyundai at the end of the race that will go down in history, adding another golden page of the Acropolis Rally to what has been "written" for fifty years in the World Rally Championship.
The Korean team, holder of two WRC World Championships, had to wait eight years to add this achievement to its portfolio, combining it with its first victory on Greek soil. It is worth mentioning that the last time a manufacturer won all three steps of the podium in the Acropolis Rally was in 1989, when Lancia had done the "1-2-3" with three Delta Integrale and drivers Miki Biasion, Didier Auriol and Alessandro Fiorio.
As of last night, all indications were that the Hyundai had all the conditions to reach this historic result. Thierry Neuville, Ott Tanak and Dani Sordo were in the top three positions, and all the Spaniard needed was for the Spaniard to keep Elfyn Evans in the Toyota Yaris Rally1 behind him. Fortune smiled on Hyundai early on, as the Yaris developed a turbo problem before the first special of the day, resulting in Evans retiring. A short time later, Hyundai gave clear instructions to its drivers to maintain their positions, thus securing the historic result.
With his victory on the Wolf Power Stage, Ott Tanak gained additional valuable points in his quest for the title, where his rival Kalle Rovanpera remains. Evans' retirement this morning allowed Pierre-Louis Loubet to climb to 4th place, equalling his best result in the Championship. One place behind was his M-Sport Ford teammate Craig Breen, who managed to return high up the standings after Friday's puncture. Takamoto Katsuta kept the Toyota flag flying high by finishing sixth, although the Japanese team would probably prefer to forget about this year's Acropolis.
The abandonment of several crews with Rally1 cars brought the WRC2 drivers up in the rankings. Thus, Finland's Emil Lindholm in his Skoda Fabia Rally2 scored his second victory in the event this year, following the one he achieved in his home country, while also finishing seventh in the overall standings. Nikolay Gryazin finished second in the same car, managing to avoid problems. The great performance of the race, however, came from Cypriot Alexandros Tsoulofta, who, with Ross Whittock in the right-hand drive of his Volkswagen Polo GTI, managed to climb to the third step of the podium in the class, undercutting Eyvind Brynildsen on the last special of the race, the Wolf Power Stage, and making the most of Johan Rossel's unfortunate moment.
In the JWRC the suspense lasted until the end, with Robert Vivres winning the Youth Championship! The young Estonian took advantage of his rivals' problems and drove with great maturity to secure the trophy, which translates into four races in WRC2 next year. However, Britain's Jon Armstrong tried until the end to make a great comeback, but in the end he didn't succeed.
Among the Greek crews, the first place was won by Lambros Athanasoulas-Nikos Zakheos in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2, with the Greek driver not performing to his high standards, due to the fact that he is undergoing a post-operative period. Second was followed by Vassilis and Yannis Velanis in another Skoda Fabia Rally2, who had a clever strategy that saw them finish high up the order. The top three was completed by Nonnas Karanikolas-Giorgos Kakavas in the Ford Fiesta Rally3, impressing in their first appearance with this car. As for the RC4 category, the first place was won by Paschalis Hadjimarkos-Marios Tsaousoglou in the Peugeot 208 Rally4, driving fast and avoiding the problems that would have put them out of the race. Behind them, Savvas Lefkaditis-Vangelis Akratos set excellent times in the Peugeot 208 Rally4, but failed to make up the time they lost on the first day.
EKO Acropolis Rally 2022 had it all! Suspense, drama, twists and turns and intense competition, proving once again that it is among the top races of the World Championship. A rally that leaves an indelible mark in the history of motorsport!
