Fourmaux encountered issues on the final stage of Saturday morning’s loop, damaging his car in a slow-speed corner where one of his rear tyres took a significant hit.
He limped to the stage finish, but lost 1 minute and 11 seconds to the leaders. As a result, his gap to the rally lead grew to over one and a half minutes.
“There was a rock on the outside of the line which wasn’t in my notes, and the tyre hit it,” Fourmaux reported at the stage end.
Fourmaux had been running second before the incident. The time loss dropped him to third, behind Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman was seen carrying out repairs on his Hyundai on the road section in an effort to make it back to service.
At the front, Ott Tänak lost 0.1 seconds to Ogier on the loop’s final test, but this had no effect on his commanding lead. The Estonian now heads the rally by 33.2 seconds over Ogier, who has climbed to second overall.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans continues to deliver a steady performance. Running on a full set of hard tyres, the Welshman has managed to hold fourth place. Behind him, Takamoto Katsuta is up to fifth after moving ahead of Grégoire Munster, who suffered issues with his handbrake.
Kalle Rovanperä hit a low point on the final stage of the morning loop, losing 16 seconds to Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and well over half a minute to the leaders. The Finn was clearly dejected at the stage end.
“This isn’t working at all. Luckily the second-best part of the day is coming up – the lunch break. Let’s go and enjoy some food,” Rovanperä said at the finish.
It has been a very difficult morning for Rovanperä, who has struggled to find any rhythm behind the wheel. The lack of pace has been clearly reflected in his stage times.
He currently sits eighth overall, already trailing the leaders by 4 minutes and 10 seconds. Neuville managed to overhaul him during the morning loop and now holds seventh place.
After the midday service, Saturday’s schedule continues with three more special stages. The Acropolis Rally concludes on Sunday.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS10/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 2:11:12.6 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +33.2 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1:30.6 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:27.2 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3:44.1 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:52.6 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +3:53.0 |
| 8. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +4:10.8 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +4:49.4 |
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) *Power Stage
