EKO Acropolis Rally Greece has come to an end. Andreas Mikkelsen took home a dominant win at the event. Find out more below.
Day One
Andreas Mikkelsen opened the weekend taking the lead after the first day. Winning the SuperSpecial stage to take a 0.4-second lead over Nikolay Gryazin. Marco Bulicia sat in third after the day, 0.3 seconds behind Gryazin.
Day Two
The second day of EKO Acropolis Rally Greece was all Nikolay Gryazin. Gryazin may have only won two stages on the day, but that didn’t stop him from taking a 29.6-second lead heading into day three. Gryazin had a relatively easy time to take the class lead as Mikkelsen had three punctures on the day. Dropping Mikkelsen to 13th in class, over 2 minutes behind Gryazin. Yohan Rossel sat second heading into day three, with Gus Greensmith sitting third, 6.8 seconds behind Rossel.
Day Three
Day three went much better for Andreas Mikkelsen. So much better that he managed to win all 6 stages on the day and temporarily take the class lead. Mikkelsen was the class-leading heading into the third until Greensmith received time back as a result of a red-flagged stage. Handing Greensmith a 12-second lead to start the fourth and final day. Gryazin retired from the class lead on the third day due to a mechanical issue but would retire on day four. Yohan Rossel dropped to third overall, now sitting 52.8 seconds behind Mikkelsen.
Day Four
Andreas Mikkelsen gained back the class lead on just the second stage of the day. Although there wasn’t much doubt he would do so, as Greensmith had been experiencing issues throughout the day and event. Nevertheless, Mikkelsen took back the lead and held on to take the event win. Although he only won a single stage. With Gryazin winning the other two stages. Yohan Rossel maintained third place to end the event. Although he was over a minute behind Gus Greensmith who finished second.
Championship Rundown
Andreas Mikkelsen maintained the WRC2 championship lead in Greece. Mikkelsen now leads the championship by 16 points over Yohan Rossel. The championship is still anybody’s game, as just 53 points separate 1st and 9th in the championship. Mikkelsen will likely lose the championship lead in Chile. As the Norwegian will not be attending the event, but Yohan Rossel and others will be. Gus Greensmith moves into third in the championship after a strong showing in Greece. Greensmith moves past Sami Pajari, Oliver Solberg, Adrien Fourmaux and Kajetan Kajetanowicz, to now sit 12 points behind Rossel. Sami Pajari drops to fourth in the championship, now 9 points behind Greensmith. Adrien Fourmaux moves into fifth in the championship, now sitting just 4 points behind Pajari. Oliver Solberg drops to sixth, 3 points behind Fourmaux.
Mikkelsen Shows Up
Andreas Mikkelsen pulled off a move reminiscent of reigning World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä in Greece. As Mikkelsen managed to gain back over two minutes to take an event lead. Along with winning all the stages on a day, something Rovanperä has made a habit of doing. Mikkelsen’s performance in Greece goes to show why no matter what you shouldn’t give up. If 3 punctures don’t stop Mikkelsen, I don’t know what will.
Unfortunate Ending
Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg both had unfortunate endings to EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. With both drivers retiring due to mechanical issues. Solberg retired on SS5 due to a fuel injector issue. Whilst Pajari retired on SS12 due to a different mechanical issue. It’s an unfortunate end for both drivers, as they are in the middle of a heated championship battle where every point matters.