Adrien Fourmaux had struggled with visibility due to dust on the Friday morning opener, but on the Loutraki stage, the Frenchman encountered no such issues. Making the most of a favourable road position, he fired in the fastest time – beating teammate Thierry Neuville by 4.9 seconds.
“I had a clean stage. I was careful in the narrow section, but when I could I pushed and I enjoyed it.”,” Fourmaux reported.
Hyundai claimed a 1–2–3 finish on the Loutraki stage, with Ott Tänak clocking the third-fastest time.
In the overall standings, Hyundai now holds the top two spots. Neuville leads by 4.2 seconds over Fourmaux.
“I want to keep this rhythm and try to keep it in the line, because when we were trying to avoid some rocks we went very wide. But as I said, the rally is very long and we hope for the best,” Neuville said.
Running second on the road, Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier dropped from the rally lead to third overall, five seconds behind Neuville. Just behind Ogier are Toyota’s Sami Pajari and Hyundai’s Tänak, tied on time.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä remains in sixth place, 16.7 seconds off the lead after losing 13.8 seconds to Fourmaux on the Loutraki stage.
“Super slippery, much more loss than I was expecting. Super bad at the moment. So much massive oversteer. Maybe it’s my fault, but I don’t,” Rovanperä admitted.
After giving his English-language stage-end interview, Rovanperä delivered a blunt one-word comment in Finnish:
“Paskaa.” (“Shit.”)
Championship leader Elfyn Evans, first on the road, has been struggling with sweeping duties on the opening stages. The Welsh Toyota driver sits seventh overall, over half a minute off the lead.
The Acropolis Rally continues with four more stages on Friday. The event finishes on Sunday.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS3/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 29:34.0 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +4.2 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +5.0 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +6.6 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +6.6 |
| 6. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +16.7 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +30.2 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +40.0 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +44.4 |
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)
