The Toyota Finn prevails on the dirt roads of Greece and brings the 2023 title closer: his rival and teammate Elfyn Evans limits the damage by taking second place ahead of Sordo’s Hyundai
– Milan
The Acropolis Rally was a weekend full of surprises and twists, but Kalle Rovanpera always won. The World Championship leader makes a potentially decisive move in the general classification, also managing to secure 5 points in the Power Stage. The main rival for the title remains his teammate Elfyn Evans, who did well to climb up to second place in a race affected by technical problems on his Yaris. Dani Sordo saves Hyundai’s image, bringing the i20 to the podium.
ROVANPERA SHOW
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The Finn opened the final day of the rally with an advantage of around 2 minutes over his pursuers. This allowed him to preserve the tires ahead of the Power Stage, in which he put all his speed on the road. 30 points for Rovanpera, a haul that extinguishes the opponents’ hopes of a comeback. Evans also finished second in the final round, keeping Sordo behind him and limiting the points lost in the standings to 8. Fourth place for Tanak, penalized by almost 4 minutes on Friday due to a problem with the engine of his Ford Puma. Fifth Lappi, also persecuted by numerous technical problems, ahead of the Japanese Katsuta, on Toyota.
OGIER PENALIZED
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Sebastien Ogier placed tenth in a race led until the last special on Saturday. On top of his retirement in ss12, he was given a 2-minute penalty for not fastening his seatbelts correctly after stopping to check the condition of his Yaris during the special which put an end to his victory ambitions. Neuville also took part in the final day of the rally, after retiring yesterday. The Belgian from Hyundai remains without points, having positioned himself in sixth place in the Power Stage.
WRC 2, MIKKELSEN WINS BY COMEBACK
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A true feat for Andreas Mikkelsen, winner of the WRC 2 class. Three punctures in the first 3 stages of the race did not stop the Norwegian who made a sensational comeback. The championship leader beat the British Greensmith in a Skoda Fabia duel for the final success. Podium completed by Rossel on Citroen, while the power stage went to the Finnish Joona (Skoda).
acropolis rally 2023, final standings
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Here is the final classification of the Acropolis Rally
- ROVANPERA (Toyota) 3:00:16.7
- EVANS (Toyota) +1:31.7
- DEAF (Hyundai) +1.35.7
- TANAK (Ford) +4:28.4
- LAPPI (Hyundai) +6:22.3
- KATSUTA (Toyota) +7:20.9
wrc world rally championship, the world drivers ranking after the ac
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World Drivers’ Championship, the ranking
- ROVANPERA (Toyota) 200
- EVANS (Toyota) 167
- NEUVILLE (Hyundai) 134
- TANAK (Ford) 119
- OGIER (Toyota) 99
- LAPPI (Hyundai) 98
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