Tänak launched a fierce attack from early Sunday morning, setting the fastest time again on the day’s second stage — the freshly introduced Tarzan special stage.
This time, Tänak beat Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier by 4.5 seconds. Ogier, however, saw it coming.
“I’ve always said this. Ott only has one mode: flat out,” Ogier quipped about the Estonian.
Tänak was quick to fire back after his stage-winning run.
“He hasn’t seen the flat out mode yet! We are managing,” Tänak laughed.
Tänak’s Hyundai teammate Adrien Fourmaux lost over half a minute to the stage winner but continues to hold third overall. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans maintained a consistent performance. The Welshman dropped nearly eight seconds to the leader and remains fourth overall.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä will want to quickly forget this edition of the Acropolis Rally. Rovanperä suffered a puncture on the Tarzan stage, which effectively ended his chances of scoring on Super Sunday. The Power Stage is now his only remaining objective.
“The puncture came out of nowhere again. We didn’t hit anything. It won’t be an easy Power Stage,” Rovanperä lamented.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville also ran into problems. He damaged his bumper and consequently lost third place in the Super Sunday standings to Toyota’s Evans, slipping down to fourth.
In the overall classification, Tänak’s lead over Ogier has now extended to 49.9 seconds. On Super Sunday, Tänak leads Ogier by 6.3 seconds. The Estonian is in a prime position to secure a full haul of points from Greece.
The Acropolis Rally now heads into a service break. Two more stages remain in the competition.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS15/17
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 3:34:29.6 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +49.9 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +3:02.7 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +3:30.6 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +4:53.8 |
| 6. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +8:53.5 |
Super Sunday standings:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 37:57.9 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +6.3 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +26.2 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +36.1 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +54.7 |
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
