Day 1 Highlights ｜ WRC EKO Acropol

The gods of rally go to battle beneath the Parthenon. Welcome to Acropolis Rally Greece. Hyundai arrived with one goal to end Toyota's dominance at top step of the podium in 2025. Eutte Tanac came closest to toppling the team's rivals at the previous two rounds and looks set for another classic duel with Seb Ogier after the short, sharp shock of the opening super special stage in Athens. Tanac's rapid run set the benchmark before Ogier sacrificed a wing mirror to catch the Estonian's time exactly. My mirror I guess, right? Yeah, they are often not lasting very long unfortunately on our car. As long as it's a mirror we're fine. 2024 Acropolis Rally winner Thierry Nerville was tied fastest with Takamoto Katsuta after shakedown but was bettered by the Toyota driver by just two tenths of a second on stage one. Katsuta will be hoping his third fastest time is a sign of things to come in Greece as he aims to convert his full gas style into his second podium finish of 2025. I'm expecting many dramas for the whole rally so try to stay away from that. That's the target. At least feel good with the car all the time. Just try smoothly doing my best job and let's see what we can do. Handicapped by his role as road sweeper in Portugal and Sardinia, Elrond Evans' championship lead has narrowed to 19 points with the Welshman firmly in the crosshairs of Kalarov Mpera. The Finn has consistently outperformed his teammates since his victory at Rally Islas Canarias but with so much potential for mistakes and mechanical misfortune in Acropolis Rally, Evans can lean on his experience from victory at the Safari Rally Kenya to successfully navigate another one of the toughest events of the calendar. Tenths of a second couldn't separate the pair after stage one but with the longest day of the rally awaiting them, it's all to play for in the fight for the driver's championship and the midway point of the season. Yeah it's going to be a tough day I guess tomorrow. You know conditions are looking quite challenging this year so definitely the case that you know we have to drive fast that's clear but there also needs to be a bit of thinking and a bit of care for the car and tyres also. Latvian livewire Martin Csesk came to Greece looking to make amends for the rally-ending crash on day one in Sardinia but the M-Sport four-driver was feeling no pressure for his Acropolis debut, the fastest of their four-strong lineup. It's a lovely opportunity to drive in the centre of Athens so yeah amazing to be part of it. And plan for the weekend? Oh I don't know, because I'm first time here how should I know? I could, probably I will tell you on Saturday evening how it was. So after the curtain raiser in Athens, Tanaka and Ogier are tied at the top of the leaderboard ahead of the longest most arduous day of the rally. Katsuta sits third with Adrien Formeau and Thierry Neuville completing the top five.