Rallying-Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures
(Reuters) -Hyundai's Ott Tanak ended the first full day of the Acropolis Rally with a slender three second lead over teammate Adrien Fourmaux as the Greek heat and rough roads left rivals struggling to keep up.
Tanak stayed out of trouble to lead on Friday night despite not winning any of the seven gravel stages in temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius.
"At times it was difficult to keep everything in one piece but I think in the end we must be happy that we didn't have any big trouble with the tyres or with the car," said the Estonian.
Hyundai's reigning champion and last year's Acropolis winner Thierry Neuville led after stage three but then dropped three minutes after collecting two punctures, before taking the day's final stage to end the day eighth.
Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanpera also lost time with tyre problems.
Teammate and eight-times world champion Sebastien Ogier was in third place, 16.9 seconds behind Tanak after leading up to stage five, and won two stages to Fourmaux's three.
The Frenchman's championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans was fourth and Gregoire Munster fifth for M-Sport Ford. Katsuta and Rovanpera were sixth and seventh.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Chelsea's Club World Cup travel plan derailed by group-stage slip-up
CHELSEA are facing a logistical headache at the Club World Cup after finishing second in their group, forcing an unexpected trip to Charlotte for their last 16 match instead of staying in Miami, where the club thought they would be based for the knockout stage. A club source told Reuters that travel, accommodation and training arrangements were all made with the assumption that the West Londoners would top Group D and play their round of 16 match at Hard Rock Stadium. Instead, after a 3-1 loss to Brazil's Flamengo and only managing second place despite a 3-0 win over Esperance Tunis in their final group stage fixture in Philadelphia, Chelsea will now face Benfica on Saturday at the Bank of America Stadium. The detour means reorganising bookings and schedules at short notice, but the club still intends to return to its Miami base after the match, adding more miles to an already hectic itinerary. If Enzo Maresca's side reach the quarter-finals, they will return to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to face the winner of the all-Brazilian clash between Palmeiras and Botafogo. — REUTERS
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Dirk Kuyt gets new coaching job in the Netherlands
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt was appointed coach of Dutch second-division club FC Dordrecht on Friday, signing a one-season deal, the club said. The former Dutch international striker, who also played at Feyenoord and Fenerbahce, was fired last week by Beerschot of Belgium after they finished bottom of the standings and were relegated. Kuyt had won the second-division title and promotion with them the previous season. His task will now be to turn Dordrecht into promotion candidates. They have had a single season in the top flight of Dutch football over the last 30 years. "I am looking forward to a new adventure at FC Dordrecht with great pleasure," the 44-year-old Kuyt said in a statement issued by the club. "I have seen that FC Dordrecht has become a stable club in recent years, a team that plays good and attacking football, but also develops many young talents. I'm looking forward to getting started as soon as possible," he added. The new season kicks off next month. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Miami; Editing by Sam Holmes)
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Norris leads McLaren 1-2 in Austrian GP practice session
LANDO NORRIS bounced back from his Canadian catastrophe to top the times ahead of team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri as McLaren reeled off a commanding 1-2 in second practice on Friday at the Austrian Grand Prix. Norris, who sat out the first session at the Red Bull Ring, clocked a best lap in one minute and 4.580 seconds to beat Piastri by 0.157 seconds with four-time champion Max Verstappen third fastest for Red Bull, adrift by 0.318 seconds. For Norris, it was a relief to move on from his collision with team-mate Piastri in Montreal where he retired pointless, admitting he had 'made a fool of myself'. Lance Stroll was fourth for Aston Martin ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, George Russell of Mercedes, who won last year and two weeks ago in Canada, and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull. Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth for Sauber ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, struggling in his updated Ferrari. After much paddock speculation linking Verstappen with a move to Mercedes, the session began with Colapinto and Ocon leading the way in near-perfect conditions at the picturesque, and historic, circuit set in the Styrian Alps. Russell, fastest in the morning, was soon on top again, but it was the McLarens of Piastri and Norris that proved they had found more pace amid the rising temperatures, with the air at 26 degrees Celsius and track at 34. Having missed the morning session, when Irish reserve driver Alex Dunne proved his huge potential by finishing fourth, Norris swept to the top after 10 minutes shortly before Leclerc, also back after sitting out the first practice, ran off at Turn Six and his Ferrari team-mate Hamilton reported he had 'no pace' in his updated car. Norris stayed on top, trimming his time, before switching to softs with 'papaya' team-mate Piastri slotting in second. Stroll was third, four-tenths adrift ahead of the chasing pack including 'man of the moment' Russell. 'He has been part of our programme for 10 years,' said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff of Russell. - Mercedes confirm Max talks - 'He's always performed to expectations and continues to do so. 'These kind of contract discussions end up accelerated in the media, but it's normal business. Contracts discussions are not held in Town Halls. All is going to plan.' Wolff confirmed he was in contact with Verstappen, but suggested it was not in his mind to replace Russell and stressed that he was also very happy also with Antonelli. Thus most seasoned observers regarded the speculation as merely exploratory. The Dutchman is contracted to Red Bull until 2028, but with release clauses - that may relate to a possible exit by adviser Helmut Marko amid claims that he could be replaced by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. On track, Verstappen delayed his entry by 12 minutes and worked his way into contention, but with 15 minutes remaining he was adrift of the two McLarens by three-tenths with Mercedes and Ferrari struggling to keep pace. It was another session of few incidents with Tsunoda and Oliver Bearman having brushes with gravel traps and Nico Hulkeberg ran off at Turn One, but few dramas although Hamilton was called to see the stewards for accidentally impeding Antonelli.
