Tänak began the Rengini special stage with impressive speed, leading at the first split. However, shortly after, Tänak had to pull over as his Hyundai suffered a puncture.
Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja changed the tyre swiftly, completing the task in under a minute and a half. This ensured that Tänak didn’t drop too far behind the leaders, and Hyundai still maintained a triple lead.
But that wasn’t all. Midway through the stage, Tänak suffered a second puncture, losing even more valuable time. Consequently, Tänak fell to fourth in the overall standings, behind Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier.
“Change a puncture twice. The first was of the rim and the second was a bent rim,” Tänak explained.
Due to Tänak’s misfortune, Hyundai driver Dani Sordo took the lead in the Acropolis Rally. World Championship leader Thierry Neuville is second, 7.2 seconds behind his teammate.
Neuville set the fastest time on the Rengini special stage, edging Ogier by just 0.2 seconds.
“Very clean run. In the middle section we were a bit careful. We changed the setup of the car and I feel better with the car,” Neuville said.
Ogier, who has climbed to third place, is almost two minutes behind the leader. He lost his lead on Friday due to a turbo issue. Tänak, meanwhile, is about one and a half minutes behind Ogier.
Sami Pajari moved into the lead of the WRC2 class during Saturday’s opening stage. The Finn is impressively fifth overall.
There are still five more special stages to run on Saturday in the Acropolis Rally. The competition will conclude on Sunday.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS7/15:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Dani Sordo | Hyundai | 1:58:46.2 |
| 2. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +7.2 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1:48.6 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +3:28.4 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3:35.9 |
| 6. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +3:48.0 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:53.9 |
| 8. | Fabrizio Zaldivar | Skoda | +4:37.8 |
Acropolis Rally itinerary (CET) :
Thursday, 5 September 08:01 Shakedown: Lygaria (3.62 km) Friday, 6 September 06:58 SS1: Ano Pavliani 1 (22.47 km) 08:09 SS2: Dafni 1 (21.67 km) 10:17 SS3: Tarzan 1 (23.37 km) 12:16 Service (30 min) 13:29 SS4: Ano Pavliani 2 (22.47 km) 15:40 SS5: Dafni 2 (21.67 km) 16:48 SS6: Tarzan 2 (23.37 km) Saturday, 7 September 07:16 SS7: Rengini (28.67 km) 09:37 SS8: Thiva (20.95 km) 12:05 SS9: Aghii Theodori 1 (25.87 km) 13:58 Tyre fitting zone (15 min) 14:46 SS10: Loutraki (12.90 km) 16:05 SS11: Aghii Theodori 2 (25.87 km) 20:05 SS12: EKO SSS (1.97 km) Sunday, 8 September 07:59 SS13: Inohori (17.47 km) 09:05 SS14: Eleftherohori 1 (18.29 km) 11:15 Service (15 min) 12:15 SS15: Eleftherohori 2 (18.29 km) Power Stage
