Neuville wins at the Acropolis and Sordo finishes on the podium (3rd)

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the Belgian pilot Thierry Neuville won this Sunday in Greece the Acropolis Rally, tenth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC)ahead of two other Hyundai drivers, the Estonian Ott Tanak and the spanish Dani is deafat the end of a weekend marked by Toyota’s collective disappointment.

Neuville, who has yet to win this season, took the 16th win of his WRC career. He handled the final morning of the race perfectly and held a 15-second lead over Tänak at the end of the 16th and final 16km special stage, which awarded bonus points.

Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet (Ford), who had a very successful rally despite problems on Saturday (puncture, etc.), took fourth place on Sunday morning after Welshman Elfyn Evans retired (Toyota) after breaking the road to the first. phase of the day

Championship leader Finn Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), who crashed on Saturday while in the points, was the worst hit of the weekend as the Hyundai drivers, led by Tänak and Neuville, cut him a distance on the table .

With three races remaining, Rovanperä now leads the World Championship with 207 points, followed by Tänak (154) and Neuville (131). Sordo is eighth with 49.

The withdrawal of British Elfyn Evans, due to turbo problems in his Toyota Yaris before Sunday’s first special, put the Hyundai team ahead of the opportunity to achieve the first triplet in its history in the World Rally Championship, and he did not done. let it escape.

Rovanperä (Toyota), leader of the current championship and winner of the previous edition of Acropolis, was another of the drivers affected on Saturday morning, ending the third stage of the day with significant damage to the rear of the car after crashing into a full

The Finn had already last month, at the Belgium rally, the first chance to become the youngest champion in the World Championship, at the age of 21, but a rollover on the first day left him with no options.

On the gravel track north of Athens Rovanperä, with a 72-point lead over Ott Tänak at the start of this tenth race, he had to beat the Estonian by at least 18 points, but he did not leave Greece without scoring (twelfth) , and will wait for the next appointment, the New Zealand rally, which starts on September 29, to try a new sentence of the title.

“I had good and bad weekends, but this was the worst I’ve ever had,” said Rovanperä.

After New Zealand, the final two tests will take place in Spain (RACC Catalunya) in October and in Japan in November.

Final classification (after 16 specials):

1. Thierry Neuville-Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL/Hyundai) 3 hours 34:52.0

2. Ott Tänak-Martin Järveoja (EST/Hyundai) in 15.

3. Dani Sordo-Candido Carrera (ESP/Hyundai) in 1:49.7

4. Pierre-Louis Loubet-Vincent Landais (FRA/M-Sport Ford) in 3:42.2

5. Craig Breen-Paul Nagle (IRL/M-Sport Ford) in 4:09.0

17. Kalle Rovanperä-Jonne Halttunen (FIN/Toyota) in 17:00.3

Power Stage Classification (ES16):

1. Tänak 5 pts

2. Rovanperä 4 pts

3. Breen 3pts

4. Greensmith 2pts

5. Lappi 1pt

Dropouts:

Sébastien Loeb-Isabelle Galmiche (FRA/M-Sport Ford), electrical problem (SS8)

Elfyn Evans-Scott Martin (GBR/Toyota), turbo issue (SS14)

Source: La Verdad

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