Skoda driver Lindholm and co-driver Reeta Hämäläinen entered the Greek round of the WRC with high expectations, but the rally turned into a frustrating experience for the duo. On Friday, they suffered two punctures as well as a leaking radiator during the afternoon loop, which dropped them to ninth in WRC2.
Saturday was the longest leg of the rally and went mostly without issues for Lindholm — until the final stage of the day. A loud noise from the rear of the car forced him to ease off. Lindholm nursed the car to the stage finish and made it safely to evening service, where the mechanics tightened some bolts that had worked loose on the rear end.
Lindholm eventually finished seventh in the WRC2 classification, nearly seven minutes behind winner Oliver Solberg.
“The result was of course a big disappointment, but our stage times before the issues were consistently competitive. The car has a lot of potential,” Lindholm pointed out.
“Right after the start of the first stage on Sunday, the intercom control unit failed and we had to change it. On the next stage, the surface of the tyre came off, and on the third one we had another puncture. We just drove through the final stage to secure second and third places in the WRC2 team standings for our team Toksport,” Lindholm summed up.
The Acropolis Rally’s stages were in rough shape, and the scorching heat added another layer of difficulty for the drivers.
“I’ve never competed in such hot conditions before. The heat wasn’t unbearable as long as you remembered to hydrate properly. I was last here three years ago in September, and compared to this June edition, it was a completely different event. The rally had changed dramatically, and our old setup solutions didn’t really apply anymore,” Lindholm explained.
Lauri Joona also had a rally full of adversity, with multiple punctures and technical problems along the way.
“I think we only got through a few stages without any issues — and in those, our times were actually quite decent. But this definitely wasn’t the result we came here for, and I can’t be satisfied with it,” Joona admitted.
Joona finished tenth in WRC2 class.
“Next up we’ll head to more familiar high-speed gravel events in Estonia and Jyväskylä. That’ll be exciting, and we’ll be aiming for a much stronger performance there,” Joona previewed.
