WRC Greece June 1-3 talk/results

[Weasel 555]

The 54th edition of the Acropolis Rally will be the event marking the end of the 2007 World Rally Championship season's first half.

Scheduled from 1 to 3 June, the participants will be discovering nearly 100 kilometres of new ground over this rally thanks to a revamped layout.

Last year, the organisers had decided to base this historic motorsport meeting in Athens. That will again be the case this time around, however the Olympic Stadium site headquarters will be relocated to the Hippodrome constructed during the 2004 games.

http://www.rally-live.com/wrc/en/index.shtml
http://www.crash.net/home~cid~4.htm
www.swrt.com

[WRXelent]

Wow! The halfway point already and Loeb isn't leading! I guess the Earth is spinning in the other direction now! Let's see...Petter usually gets points on one rally and zero on the next. So if the pattern holds up, Petter will be getting 0 points this rally. I wonder what his problem will be this weekend? I hope he breaks the pattern and gets 10. It's been a while. Thanks for your updates!

[Weasel 555]

well between greece n stpr rallies this weekend hopefully a few scoobies will end up on the podium

[SD_GR]

It's not nearly the tank buster the old Acropolis was but it's still enough to send even the best packing, and I hope the new layout maintains the overall character as it's a very historic event.

[Weasel 555]

Overall SS5:

1.Atkinson - Subaru - 43'12"9
2.P.Solberg - Subaru - 43'16"8
3.Hirvonen - Ford - 43'21"2
4.Gronholm - Ford - 43'25"9
5.Sordo - C4 - 43'28"2
6.Loeb - C4 - 43'31"6
7.H.Solberg - Ford - 43'40"7
8.Latvala - Ford - 43'52"2
9.Stohl - Xsara - 44'14"1
10.Perez - Ford - 44'29"2

The Olympic Properties stage is set in Markopoulo next to the Equestrian Centre which serves as the rally's base. Although it is a short, fast gravel road developed with spectators in mind, its layout is nonetheless tricky.

Tricky or not, it seems that not much can scare off the Subaru drivers today. Petter Solberg won this stage by driving his Impreza WRC across this short trail with a best time of 03'33"7, thereby signing Subaru's third consecutive win to date on this first Leg. Team-mate Chris Atkinson took second place.

Stobart driver Jari-Matti Latvala came next, just taking the third position 00'00"1 ahead of Citroën's Sébastien Loeb. He was in turn followed by another Stobart driver, Henning Solberg, who tied with Ford's Mikko Hirvonen. Dani Sordo hovered close by in seventh position aboard the other works Citroën C4, only 00'00"2 later.

Ford's Marcus Grönholm did not have a good time at it and crossed the line in eighth place, 00'00"2 ahead of Jan Kopecky's Czech Rally Team Skoda car. Tenth place went to Manfred Stohl for OMV Kronos Citroën.

The leaderboard still shows Chris Atkinson at the top, but Subaru team-mate Petter Solberg has brought the time gap down to 00'03"9. The works Ford drivers come next, Mikko Hirvonen in third fronting Marcus Grönholm in fourth. Citroën Sport's Dani Sordo and Sébastien Loeb follow in fifth and sixth positions, with the Frenchman moving closer to the Spaniard. Henning Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala continue the string of duos as seventh and eighth on the list.

The Acropolis Rally will resume after the mid-day break when it launches its second loop over the morning stages.

Daniel BASTIEN
© CAPSIS International

[Weasel 555]

Leg 1 has ended with a final passage over the ominous Agia Sotira stage, an uphill rock-strewn trail where reflexes become more important than outright speed. The day has been an exciting one, with a series of stage winners and leaderboard changes that became unpredictable.

For the first time since the beginning of the Acropolis Rally, Sébastien Loeb brought his works Citroën C4 to a stage win, accomplishing a fastest time of 09'25"6. "The stage was full of rocks. It was really rough. I am happy that I was faster than Marcus," he declared at the arrival.

He was closely followed by Mikko Hirvonen, second-fastest with a time only 00'00"3 longer aboard a works Ford Focus car equipped with now overly worn-out tyres.

Team-mates were next in line, with Citroën's Dani Sordo and Ford's Marcus Grönholm taking third and fourth places. "It was a very rough stage," said Grönholm, who ended his run with a broken front left rim.

The Stobart Team's Jari-Matti Latvala followed in fifth, with a pair of Subarus running right behind – Chris Atkinson ahead of Petter Solberg.

With Henning Solberg ending his run with a time of 09'31"7, the first eight contenders all crossed the line within 10 seconds of each other!

Manfred Stohl took ninth place for the OMV Kronos Team, while Matthew Wilson reached the top ten for the first time today for the Stobart team as he tries to recuperate lost ground.

In the overall rankings, Marcus Grönholm maintains his position at the top of the leaderboard and therefore reigns above Leg 1. Petter Solberg is still holding on to his second place despite almost doubling his time lag on Grönholm to 8.3 seconds. Chris Atkinson is moving in however, only 00'00"7 behind his team-mate, with Sébastien Loeb a further 00'00"7 away. Mikko Hirvonen reclaims fifth-place status from Dani Sordo, but barely.

Tomorrow's continuation promises to be just as exciting, since the top six drivers are all within a zone that does not stretch longer than 10.7 seconds!

SS 9, the Imittos 1 stage, has been cancelled due to environmental considerations. Leg 2 will begin tomorrow with the Agii Theodori 1 stage at 09:03 local time (GMT+3).

Daniel BASTIEN
© CAPSIS International

Overall SS8:

1.Gronholm-Ford-1h19'16"0
2.P.Solberg-Subaru-1h19'24"3
3.Atkinson-Subaru-1h19'25"0
4.Loeb-C4-1h19'25'7
5.Hirvonen-Ford-1h19'26"3
6.Sordo-C4-1h19'26"7
7.H.Solberg-Ford-1h20'01"2
8.Latvala-Ford-1h20'04"3
9.Stohl-Xsara-1h21'01"9
10.Kopecky-Skoda-1h21'52"6

[SD_GR]

Too bad about Imitos being cancelled, it's a fun stage with many good vantage points. I've attended Aghioi Theodoroi also, and it's also very fun to watch (I've got a water tower spot midway that I prefer, as they come downhill into a right bend) but by the time they run it it's getting warm already, and the dust is something else. I miss being there live!

[Weasel 555]

Spiros,
next yr we'll go and you can be the guide

[SD_GR]

I wish! Friday is a good day to go, because only half the country is at the stages ("Don't these people have jobs?!" I'd say while there myself...). The usual plan is first stage of the day, then rush rush rush to catch whatever you can of the closing stages, and then off to the beach at Loutraki to wash off the dust in the sea. There's cafes all along the beach for an iced coffee or twelve beers or whatever, and taverns at night for gyros etc.

Overall it's not exactly a bad day! I'd recommend it to anyone.

[Weasel 555]

Day 2 --i was at STPR in Pa

check www.rally-live.com

End of Day 3 (nice to see 3 dif mfrs on the podium) :

1.Gronholm - Ford - 3h49'22"6
2.Loeb - C4 - 3h50'01"2
3.P.Solberg - Subaru - 3h50'56"7
4.Hirvonen - Ford - 3h52'03"9
5.H.Solberg - Ford - 3h54'15"3
6.Atkinson - Subaru - 3h55'54"3
7.Kopecky - Skoda - 3h58'18"8
8.Stohl - Xsara - 3h58'18"8
9.Wilks - Ford - 3h59'15"8
10.Wilson - Ford - 4h00'02"2

[SD_GR]

Solberg put on a good show and his comeback from the suspension problems is promising. Good for Subaru.

[WRXelent]

I hope this is the beginning of a good run by Petter and Subaru. Nice to see him and Chris finish and one claim a podium spot.

[mbs627]

Petter needs to keep the goatee, it is good luck.