WRC Acropolis Rally 2025: Tänak dominates - Rovanperä and Katsuta out

(Motorsport-Total.com) - Hyundai driver Ott Tänak impressively left his mark on Saturday at the Acropolis Rally in Greece, the seventh round of the 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC). The Estonian secured five of the day's six stages and extended his lead over Sebastien Ogier (Toyota) to 43.6 seconds going into the final day. While Hyundai is on course for its first victory of the 2025 season, Toyota suffered a bitter setback: Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta both retired in the afternoon.

Tänak started Saturday with a revised base setup – with resounding success. The Hyundai factory driver found significantly more confidence in the handling of his i20 N and gave the competition little chance. "It was an extremely demanding day with very tough stages," said Tänak at the finish. "We had a good starting position, and the car improved over the course of the day."

Only the tenth special stage (SS) went to Ogier, who focused primarily on risk minimization in the GR Yaris to avoid tire damage and mechanical problems. The Frenchman finished the day in second place.

Fourmaux loses connection: improvisation with cable ties

Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai), who had started the day as Tänak's closest rival, lost ground on the opening stages. A slip on SS10, in which he touched an earth bank, cost him 1:11 minutes and dropped him to third place (+2:08.0 minutes).

Fourmaux had to make a temporary repair to his Hyundai's damaged wishbone en route: "We knew we had to cover 60 kilometers in 60 minutes—so no stress," said the Frenchman. "I fixed the wishbone with a pin, like in a medical device, and then secured it with a tensioning strap to prevent the wheel from swinging too far."

Toyota double retirement on SS11: Rovanperä and Katsuta stranded

For Toyota, disaster struck on the particularly rough SS 11, "Pavliani 2." Rovanperä, who was running seventh overall, slid off the track in a right-hand bend and ended up stuck on the side of the road. Although spectators helped push him back onto the track, technical problems with the brakes and drivetrain prevented him from continuing.

Just a few minutes later, Katsuta was also caught out: The Japanese driver misjudged the braking for a left-hand bend just 600 meters from the finish. "The car barely had any deceleration on the bumpy section," explained Katsuta. "I almost made the turn, but the front wheel wouldn't turn, and then we were stuck on a pile of gravel. A stupid mistake, but also a lot of bad luck."

Evans' last remaining Toyota - Neuville on the rise

Following the double retirement of his teammates, Elfyn Evans is the last remaining Toyota full-time driver in the competition. The Welshman stayed out of trouble and is currently fourth (+3:04.4 minutes), but had to run on hard tires, which slowed his pace somewhat.

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) continued his recovery after a series of tire failures. Despite two more problems on Saturday morning, the Hyundai star worked his way up to fifth place (+4:17.7 minutes).

Gregoire Munster lost a position and dropped to sixth due to persistent handbrake problems in his M-Sport Ford. Teammate Josh McErlean also struggled with the same issues, compounded by a rear end damaged earlier in the day.

In the WRC2 class, Oliver Solberg (Toyota) remains the benchmark. The Swede finished Saturday more than a minute ahead of Gus Greensmith (Skoda), thus maintaining the category lead.

The final day of the rally demands everything from the drivers once again: with a total of 99 kilometers of competition, the longest Sunday of the season awaits.