Rovanperä ran slightly wide in a corner on the second pass through the Pavliani stage. His Toyota got stuck on a banked slope, but with the help of spectators, the car was eventually pushed back onto the road.
The time loss in the ditch was significant—about five minutes. After that, Rovanperä continued at a slow pace due to damage to the car.
“Something broke in the brakes and we went a bit wide because of that. The car isn’t pulling or working properly. There’s some issue with the transmission—looks like a driveshaft or something,” co-driver Jonne Halttunen reported via radio to Toyota’s sporting director Kaj Lindström.
Rovanperä eventually had to stop at the roadside, marking a retirement for the rest of Saturday.
Toyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta also went off at the end of the same stage, running wide in a corner and beaching his car on a bank. The Japanese driver likewise had to retire from the day’s running.
At the front of the field, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak remains in the lead, holding a margin of just over half a minute over Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier. Tänak set the fastest time on Pavliani, beating Ogier by 2.5 seconds.
“Just super demanding rough stage, many surprises. But clean stage,” Tänak commented.
Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux sits third at the Acropolis Rally, ahead of Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. Thierry Neuville of Hyundai has moved up to fifth place, while M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster holds sixth.
Two more special stages remain on Saturday in the Acropolis Rally. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS11/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 2:30:29.5 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +35.7 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1:48.7 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2:47.6 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +4:42.1 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:52.6 |
| 7. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +6:00.2 |
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
