Dani Sordo and Ott Tänak joined the Belgian to replicate the 2022 podium lockout and live up to the high expectations of the weekend

WRC EKO Acropolis Rally Greece’s intense and unforgiving terrain was kind to our crews after positive pre-event tests last month. Round ten of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship began with a provisional 1-2-3 for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team on day one.

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja had a comfortable lead after the first six stages, followed by the Spanish duo of Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera and championship leaders Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe. Tänak took a dominant victory in SS5 to establish a 21.8-second lead.

But while Tänak was charging ahead, Sordo was battling a lost hybrid system and Neuville had intermittent engine troubles. While the championship leader’s car was firing on only three cylinders, Neuville certainly was not and kept Sébastien Ogier and Adrien Fourmaux at bay: a testament to our crews’ finesse on the brutal Acropolis stages.

Sordo said: “Despite our hybrid issue for the last three stages, our times were good, but it was not simple. Tomorrow will be a long one.”

Day Two saw a shakeup at the top. Tänak and Sordo suffered a puncture during Saturday’s first stages, promoting Ogier into provisional third place. A second puncture cost Tänak over four minutes and gave Sordo the lead. With no spare tyres remaining, Tänak and Järveoja still took their i20 N Rally1 Hybrid to a stage win on SS10.

“It was unfortunate to get two punctures,” Tänak said, “but the afternoon was without trouble and I’m happy.”

Sordo’s lead was being closed down: Neuville and Wydaeghe were in fine form. The Belgian pair remained consistent and cautious and took a stage win on SS7 before inheriting the lead from Sordo and Carrera on SS9. By the end of day two, their margin over Sordo was almost a minute – a comfortable gap to have heading into Super Sunday.

The final day saw our crews tackle three stages for Super Sunday. Heavy overnight rain threw the cat amongst the pigeons: our drivers had to be nimble on their feet to survive the new conditions and make it to the Power Stage.

All Neuville and Wydaeghe had to do was be consistent and get the car to the finish line without faltering. The Belgian crew finished fourth on Sunday and in the Power Stage to secure his first rally win since the opening round at Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Neuville came face-to-face with the Rally of the Gods and emerged unscathed; quite the performance from the Belgian, who recently signed for an additional year with Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Neuville, “It’s been a crazy weekend. I knew we needed to approach this rally differently to try and keep the advantage we have in the championship. We weren’t driving on the limit to avoid punctures and now we have a good lead. We will try to protect those points in the last three rounds.”

Sordo grabbed 15 points for his second-place finish on Saturday. His mission on Sunday was to bring the car home in one piece. The Spanish duo secured their second podium in 2024 after two additional points on Super Sunday and a crash from Ogier promoted them to second place overall by the end of the day.

Tänak’s Sunday needed to be strong – and it was. After a difficult opening to Saturday’s stages, the Estonian crew had to get some points on the board. Despite a misfiring engine causing some concerns, two top-three stage times and a costly incident from Ogier were enough to capture third place overall.

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team came away from WRC EKO Acropolis Rally Greece occupying first and second in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships, with an extended 35-point lead in the manufacturers’ standings.

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal, Cyril Abiteboul, said:

“Two years after locking out the podium at Acropolis Rally, we do it again. This rally is a true test for the crews, the team and the car. It hasn’t been a perfect weekend, yet we remained focused and played the long game to extend our lead in the standings. However, the emotions of a win like this are something else. We can celebrate tonight and back at the factory later this week!”

Next rally

• The FIA WRC season will return in three weeks for the Rally Chile Bio Bío (September 26-9).