Munster announced via his social media channels late Saturday night that he had been forced to retire from the rally. The Ford driver had completed Saturday’s stages and was holding sixth place in the overall standings.
“Tough news tonight. Due to a technical issue detected during this evening’s service, we won’t be able to start tomorrow morning. It’s a tough one to swallow, but we’ll bounce back stronger in three weeks!,” Munster wrote.
The retirement is a painful blow for the Luxembourger, as his WRC season has been anything but smooth. He finished fifth at Safari Rally in March, but otherwise has only managed to pick up minor points in Sweden and Portugal. In Greece, he was on track to at least secure sixth place.
Throughout the event, Munster had stuck to his own strategy—driving patiently and aiming to survive the punishing Greek stages. On Saturday, he had to compete without a functioning handbrake, and by the penultimate stage of the day, there were signs of yet another technical issue.
“We’re having other problems now. Just trying to make it through,” Munster reported at the time.
The Acropolis Rally still features four special stages on Sunday, with nearly 100 competitive kilometres remaining.
