Ogier set the fastest time on the 27-kilometre Aghii Theodori stage and now leads the rally by 6.1 seconds over Hyundai’s Ott Tänak.
“Very rough. I try to drive smoothly. Not push on rough sections. Too much risk,” Ogier commented.
Hyundai’s Belgian driver Thierry Neuville suffered a puncture near the end of the stage and lost nearly 40 seconds, dropping from the rally lead down to sixth overall.
“It’s hard to know what happened. A lot of stones. There are going to be a lot of punctures. We lost 40 seconds and it was the right decision to go on. The rally is long. It’s too early,” said Neuville.
Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux now sits third overall, 14.4 seconds behind leader Ogier. Toyota’s Sami Pajari is fourth, followed by teammate Kalle Rovanperä. The Finnish pair trails the lead by around half a minute.
“So many surprises. I feel the car will explode any minute. Try to get through the stage,” Rovanperä explained.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans, also driving for Toyota, holds seventh place overall, 42.5 seconds off the lead. Behind Evans is M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster, whose gap to Ogier has already grown to over one minute.
The Acropolis Rally continues with three more stages on Friday. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS4/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 48:10.5 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +6.1 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +14.4 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +27.5 |
| 4. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +32.4 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +34.5 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +42.5 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:10.4 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +1:33.1 |
| 10. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +2:17.2 |
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)
