Tänak went flat-out from the start, setting a blistering stage-winning time. He beat Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier by a massive 6.4 seconds.
With the effort, Tänak extended his advantage over both his teammate Adrien Fourmaux and Ogier. His lead grew to 13 seconds over Fourmaux and 23.3 seconds over Ogier.
“It was hard to find the rhythm on this kind of stage. I just tried my best to keep it clean,” Tänak commented at the stage end.
Ogier was reasonably satisfied with his own run, even if he couldn’t match Tänak’s speed.
“There was much better grip than yesterday. That was enjoyable,” Ogier noted.
The rally’s top three distanced themselves immediately on Saturday morning. Fourmaux was third fastest on the stage, losing exactly 10 seconds to his teammate Tänak.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä had a sluggish start to the day. The Finn was beaten by his teammate Takamoto Katsuta on this stage and ended up only sixth fastest.
“Really difficult. Much less grip than I expected,” Rovanperä admitted.
There was bad news for Sami Pajari right at the start of the day. Toyota initially sent the Finn—who had retired on Friday—back into the rally, but Pajari was forced to retire again and did not start Saturday’s competition at all. He explained the reason for the second retirement on social media.
“We had hoped to get the car ready for Saturday, but the fuel supply issues couldn’t be fixed. That’s why we had to retire again,” Pajari explained.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville also had another difficult start to the day. He suffered yet another puncture. Although it was a slow puncture, it still hampered his performance, but he managed a solid time considering the circumstances.
In the overall standings, the top three have pulled away from the rest. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, in fourth, is now more than 1 minute and 50 seconds off the lead. Kalle Rovanperä is seventh, though he still managed to stay ahead of Neuville.
Five more special stages remain on Saturday. The rally finishes on Sunday.
Acropolis Rally standings after SS8/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 1:44:41.5 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +13.0 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +23.3 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:50.6 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2:38.7 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3:08.4 |
| 7. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +3:14.6 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +3:19.1 |
| 9. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +3:39.7 |
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
