Latest news with #AcropolisRally
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Rallying-Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures
Rallying-Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures 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. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures
June 27 (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.
The Star
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Star
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)
France 24
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- France 24
Tanak leads after tough day at the Acropolis Rally
With the sun beating down, the Estonian, world champion in 2019, reached the end of the second day with a slim three second lead over his Hyundai teammate Adrien Fourmaux. Eight-time former champion Sebastien Ogier was placed third at almost 17 seconds. Ogier's Toyota teammate and championship leader Elfyn Evans was in fourth, almost one-and-a-half minutes adrift of Tanak. "It was a typical day in the Acropolis Rally, very difficult," said Welshman Evans. "Seb (Ogier) put in incredible times, but we weren't able to match that," Evans added. World champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) was one of the drivers who struggled, ending the day over two minutes off the lead. The Belgian lost a chunk of time due to a brace of punctures. In the overall standings, Evans holds a 19 point lead over Ogier, who is only competing part-time this season.
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Climate
- Hamilton Spectator
Rally of Gods: Punishing four-day Acropolis Rally kicks off in the Greek capital amid heatwave
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — It's dubbed the 'Rally of Gods' — a punishing, four-day event on the World Rally Championship circuit that will take 69 crews from 31 countries across rough, treacherous terrain in Greece. Known for its brutal combination of dust and heat on its twisty, mountainous stages, the Acropolis Rally started on Thursday afternoon with a special stage in the very center of Athens. Unlike much of the rest of the rally, the start will see the cars sliding on city streets outside Greece's parliament building near the foot of the Acropolis. Roads in the Greek capital's center shut down hours before the official start time in preparation for the event. This year's competition comes as the summer's first heatwave hits Greece, with temperatures forecast to surpass 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), which is sure to test the crews. Drivers who completed a 'shakedown' practice stage Thursday morning ahead of the official opening said they were expecting a tough event due to the heat and dust. 'Obviously it's a super hot weekend, so it's going to be intense in the car. Not only in the car, but for everything,' said eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier of France. The seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship includes some of the most iconic and challenging stages of the championship and spans four regions in central and southern Greece. Finland's two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera said it was clear from the shakedown that 'it's going to be quite a tough weekend with the conditions.' 'This area is quite open and we had a lot of dust already, so I think on the stage it's going to be an issue. It's going to be a really tough event this year, rough conditions, so anything can happen,' he said. The four-day competition features 17 special stages over more than 345 kilometers (about 215 miles). The event attracts top teams and drivers, including four world champions: Ogier, Rovanpera, Belgium's Thierry Neuville, and Ott Tanak of Estonia. Neuville, the 2024 world champion, and Japan's Takamoto Katsuta set the fastest time on Thursday's 3.62 kilometer shakedown with a 2 minute, 37.9 second run. Tanak, the 2019 world champion, was just 0.6 seconds behind. 'It's Greece, so nothing is predictable here,' Tanak said. ___ Ellingworth contributed from Dusseldorf, Germany ___ AP auto racing:
