Despite suffering multiple punctures, the Hyundai driver was holding onto fifth place overall and was in contention for Super Sunday points. However, during the second pass of the Smokovo stage, a technical issue hit his Hyundai, and the Belgian lost over a minute to the leaders. Neuville retained his fifth place overall but lost valuable points from Sunday’s standings.
“We have engine issues. I am losing the power all the time. I got some at the end, but I prefer to save the tires for the Power Stage. I hope we can fix it before the next one,” Neuville lamented.
Over at the Toyota camp, tactical manoeuvres were in full swing to benefit Kalle Rovanperä. Teammate Takamoto Katsuta unexpectedly started the stage ahead of Rovanperä, incurring a time penalty that in turn elevated Rovanperä ahead of the Japanese driver in the overall standings. This means Rovanperä will now start from a more favourable position on the rally-ending Power Stage.
Due to poor road positions that left both Rovanperä and Katsuta unable to realistically contend for Super Sunday points, the duo opted to heavily conserve tyres on the penultimate test. Rovanperä lost over one and a half minutes to the stage winner, while Katsuta dropped more than three minutes.
“That’s what I wanted to do. A bit sad to drive slowly, but the aim is to get points from the Power Stage. A lot of loose, sharp rocks and I didn’t want to take risks to puncture or damage. Position isn’t good for the power stage, but we’ll try,” Katsuta explained.
“Just big tyre saving. I could go even slower. I hope the tyres are good and I hope we can do something on the power stage,” Rovanperä added.
Ott Tänak of Hyundai continues to lead the rally ahead of Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier. The Estonian holds a 48.8-second advantage. Tänak also leads the Super Sunday classification by 5.2 seconds over Ogier.
Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux is third overall ahead of Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Neuville. Oliver Solberg, who leads the WRC2 category, holds sixth place in the overall classification.
Only one stage remains in the Acropolis Rally. The rally-ending Power Stage begins at 14:15 local time.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS16/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 3:55:29.5 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +48.8 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +3:04.9 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +3:39.3 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +6:20.9 |
| 6. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +9:45.1 |
Super Sunday standings:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 58:57.8 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +5.2 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +34.9 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +56.9 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:48.9 |
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
