The 1.5-kilometre stage in the capital city doesn’t reflect the real nature of the competition. Thursday’s stage was run on asphalt, while starting Friday morning, crews will face rough gravel tests.
The fastest times in Athens were set by Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier, who posted identical times. Tänak predicted that Friday will be a real fight.
“In the car we will be at the limit. That’s for sure. It will be a tough day, without any service. We will try to do the best out of it,” Tänak said.
Ogier already had a small incident on the opening loop when his right-side mirror came off. However, losing mirrors is fairly common, so the multi-time champion remained calm.
“I left my mirror in there. They don’t last very long. But as long as it is only a mirror we are fine. The temperatures expected are extreme. Acropolis is full of stones. We will try our best,” Ogier noted.
Third fastest in Athens was Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who was 0.9 seconds off the pace. Hyundai drivers Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville followed next. Championship leader Elfyn Evans and fellow Toyota driver Kalle Rovanperä shared sixth place, 1.5 seconds behind the leaders.
Rovanperä is driving with car number 69, and this is the 69th edition of the Acropolis Rally. The Finnish driver hoped the numerical coincidence might bring some luck.
“I didn’t know that, but let’s hope it brings us good luck. It’ll be a really tough and challenging weekend. Tomorrow is a very long day with no service. We’ll try to get through it,” Rovanperä said.
M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks was eighth fastest on the opening stage. Toyota’s Sami Pajari placed ninth, three seconds off the lead. Pajari won the WRC2 class in Greece last year and finished fourth overall – still the best result of his career.
“Good memories from last year. It’s going to be tricky, fingers crossed. It’s the rally of gods, so we pray for some luck,” Pajari remarked.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS1/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 1:18.1 |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +0.0 |
| 3. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +0.9 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1.0 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1.1 |
| 6. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +1.5 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1.5 |
| 8. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +2.2 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3.0 |
| 10. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +3.2 |
| 11. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +3.5 |
Acropolis Rally Itinerary (CET):
Thursday 26 June
07.01 Shakedown: Lygaria (3.62 km)
17.05 SS1: EKO Athens (1.50 km)
Friday 27 June
06.28 SS2: Aghii Theodori 1 (26.76 km)
07.31 SS3: Loutraki (12.90 km)
09.28 SS4: Aghii Theodori 2 (26.76 km)
10.46 Remote service 20 min
13.29 SS5: Thiva (19.58 km)
15.50 SS6: Stiri (24.18 km)
18.31 SS7: Elatia (11.58 km)
Saturday 28 June
07.22 SS8: Pavliani 1 (24.58 km)
09.05 SS9: Karoutes 1 (19.48 km)
10.32 SS10: Inohori 1 (17.66 km)
12.32 Service 45 min
14.22 SS11: Pavliani 2 (24.58 km)
16.05 SS12: Karoutes 2 (19.48 km)
17.32 SS13: Inohori 2 (17.66 km)
Sunday 29 June
07.03 SS14: Smokovo 1 (26.16 km)
08.05 SS15: Tarzan 1 (23.37 km)
10.09 Service 15 min
11.32 SS16: Smokovo 2 (26.16 km)
13.15 SS17: Tarzan 2 (23.37 km)
