The Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) took the lead this Friday afternoon in the Greek rally, the tenth round of the 13 WRC world championships, ahead of the Frenchman. Sebastien Ogier (Toyota) and the Finnish Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota), the provisional leader of the championship.
After six of the fifteen special test stages, Neuville closely followed Ogier, who was only hidden at 2.8, while Rovanperä, current world champion, was 25.5. Elfyn Evans (Toyota), winner of the last rally at the beginning of August in Finland, was fourth, 31 seconds behind Neuville. Seventh was Cantabrian Dani Sordo at 48″6.
The Belgian, third less than half a second behind Rovanperä on Thursday night, took control of the Acropolis Rally from stage two and held it at the end of the day’s fifth and final scheduled section. Although he was fastest in SS 3, Rovanperä lost a lot of time afterwards, starting in SS 4 which was won by Ogier, who was in good shape for his comeback after skipping the last two rounds.
The Finn, however, remains ahead of his main rival for the title, his teammate Evans, who is 25 points behind him in the provisional championship standings.
The Estonian Ott Tänak (M-Sport / Ford), victim of a water pump problem that caused him to lose almost four minutes, took off his steam on the track setting the best times in SS 5 and 6, but was relegated to 3 ’34″5 and perhaps bid farewell to victory in the land of the Gods.
This Saturday, six new special stages will be held in the program with more than 141 kilometer hours.
Classification
2nd day
1. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL, Hyundai) 55:10.4
2. Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (FRA, Toyota) at 2.8
3. Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (FIN, Toyota) at 25″5
4. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (GBR, Toyota) in 31
5. Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN, Hyundai) at 32″1
7. Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (ESP/Hyundai) at 48″6
8. Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (EST, M-Sport/Ford) in 3’34″5
SPECIAL WINNERS:
Kalle Rovanperä (ES1, ES3)
Ott Tänak (ES5, ES6)
Thierry Neuville (ES2)
Sébastien Ogier (ES4)
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.
