Ott Tänak emerged from a punishing Friday at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece with a slender lead as soaring temperatures and punishing road conditions ripped through the FIA World Rally Championship field.
The Hyundai driver survived an action-packed day of attrition to end with a 3.0s buffer over his i20 N Rally1 team-mate Adrien Fourmaux, whose pace and poise have put the Frenchman right in the hunt for a maiden WRC win.
With ambient temperatures pushing past 40°C and cockpit heat even higher, it was one of the roughest, most attritional Acropolis days in recent memory. Thierry Neuville, who briefly led after SS3, dropped around three minutes across the remainder of the day with two punctures, while Toyota rivals Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanperä faced similar setbacks.
Tänak, typically unfazed, played the long game with a clean and consistent approach alongside co-driver Martin Järveoja. While he didn’t win a single one of the six gravel speed tests, the Estonian’s only real scare was a de-beaded tyre towards the end of SS4 and the time loss was minimal.
Fourmaux was rapid and resilient, shrugging off a frustrating delay while stuck in Katsuta’s dust on SS2 to win three stages.
Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier lay third overnight, 16.9s off the lead in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. The eight-time world champion started strongly and led the rally until SS5, but earlier damage limited his tyre options for the final two stages.
Behind the top three, championship leader Elfyn Evans held fourth after long day of road-opening in his Toyota, while Grégoire Munster sat a fine fifth aboard his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 – the Luxembourger openly playing the long game with a focus on staying clear of trouble.
Takamoto Katsuta was sixth and over two and a half minutes back from the lead after back-to-back punctures on the opening two stages, with Rovanperä seventh, still in the fight despite stopping to change a wheel on the penultimate stage.
Defending champion and last year’s Acropolis winner Neuville, eighth, cut a frustrated figure after a day that could – and perhaps should – have delivered more. “We were hit twice today,” he said. “We pushed, we deserved more, but it’s a lottery sometimes.”
FIA WRC2 drivers Oliver Solberg and Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounded out the overall top 10 with Gus Greensmith 11th ahead of Josh McErlean, who also stopped to change a wheel this morning.
Mārtiņš Sesks retired his Puma prior to the final stage with a fuel issue, joining Toyota’s Sami Pajari – who was forced out earlier with a fluid leak – on the list of Rally1 retireees. Both are expected to restart for Saturday’s six-stage leg, which includes more than 120 kilometres against the clock and begins with the 24.58-kilometre Pavliani stage from 08h22 local time.
Meanwhile, Kajetanowicz leads FIA WRC2 Challenger with Turkey’s Ali Türkkan ahead in FIA WRC3 and FIA Junior WRC. Türkkan’s compatriot Uğur Soylu holds first place in the FIA WRC Masters’ Cup.
