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Acropolis Rally Days One & Two

SEASON 2012

Acropolis Rally Days One & Two

2012 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
ACROPOLIS RALLY
(24 -27 MAY 2012)

25.05.2012

Reigning World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb holds a slim 6.5 second advantage in the Acropolis Rally, the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The Frenchman overhauled Jari-Matti Latvala earlier in the day and the Finn ends the day second with Ford team-mate Petter Solberg third. All three are split by just 17.7 seconds after the longest day of the event.
 
The Acropolis Rally got underway yesterday afternoon in Athens and the crews then headed immediately to the first 25 kilometre stage, which was won by the recovering Latvala who returns to the wheel of the Fiesta RS after breaking his collarbone. The first full day today was gruelling for the crews with more than 700 kilometres of driving and 169.12 kilometres of competition over eight stages. The route – based around Itea – also only included two 15 minute remote services, during which competitors could only use spare parts carried in the rally car, before returning to Loutraki for the final 45 minute service and overnight halt
 
Loeb started the day in second position, just 2.8 seconds adrift of Latvala and, as both crews made small mistakes over the slippery and tricky gravel roads, the Finn managed to maintain his lead after the opening two stages. However, in SS4 Latvala locked up and stalled the engine in a particularly muddy corner, giving Loeb the advantage. The pair remained evenly matched throughout the rest of the day and this evening are split by just a handful of seconds. Solberg and Mikko Hirvonen have also been trading times in another close battle; Solberg coming out on top despite hitting a rock, damaging the suspension and sustaining a puncture earlier in the day, and benefitting when Hirvonen went off the road in the final stage. As a consequence, Solberg is now 31.9 seconds ahead.
 
Evgeny Novikov holds fifth, despite gear selection and turbo problems, with Martin Prokop sixth, the Czech driver spinning in two stages. Nasser Al-Attiyah has been pushing hard, but the Qatari’s co-driver has struggled with intercom problems, making pace note communication difficult for the duo. Mads Østberg dropped from fifth to eighth in the final stage, stuck off the road, and the two Volkswagen Motorsport drivers – Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen – hold ninth and 10th respectively.
 
Acropolis Rally – Provisional Results at the end of Friday

1.   Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena
2.   Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila
3.   Petter Solberg/Chris Patterson
4.   Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen
5.   Evgeny Novikov/Denis Giraudet
6.   Martin Prokop/Zdenek Hruza
7.   Nasser Al-Attiyah/G Bernacchini
8.   Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson
9.   Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia
10. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene
Citroën DS3 WRC
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Citroën DS3 WRC
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Citroën DS3 WRC
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Skoda Fabia S2000
Skoda Fabia S2000
2hr 14 min 01.3sec
2hr 14 min 07.8sec
2hr 14 min 19.0sec
2hr 14 min 50.9sec
2hr 17 min 56.3sec
2hr 18 min 48.0sec
2hr 18 min 58.2sec
2hr 19 min 15.9sec
2hr 19 min 28.5sec
2hr 20 min 32.3sec