The Finnish Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota GR Yaris), current world champion and leader of the current event, is the first leader of the Acropolis Rally, in Greece, after setting the best time this Thursday in the opening section, a super special 1.48 kilometers on the coast of Athens.
Rovanperä, 22 years old and winner of the Greek rally in 2021, in his first attempt, finished ahead of three Hyundai i20s. He finished 3 tenths of a second ahead of compatriot Esapekka Lappi, 4 ahead of Belgian Thierry Neuville and 5 ahead of Spaniard Dani Sordo, fourth on his return to competition.
With four races remaining until the end of the season, the Finn leads the overall standings of the World Championship with 25 points more than the British Elfyn Evans, winner of the previous rally, the one in Finland, and who this Thursday set twelfth record at 2.8 seconds.
Nine-time world champion Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Toyota GR Yaris) was sixth on Thursday, 1.3 seconds behind.
Almost two months after his last race, the Kenya Safari Rally, Dani Sordo will tackle his fifth performance of the year in Greece. Last year he completed the treble for his team. This Thursday marked the fourth time just 5 tenths behind Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä will have a more difficult time this Friday, as he will be in charge of the opening track in the difficult sections of the Greek event on the first day. The Acropolis Rally, which this year celebrates 70 years as an international event, continues this Friday with a stage divided into five sections, the last of which is called ‘Elatia’ and has a route of 28.32 km.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
