Ott Tänak overcame late drama to seal a commanding victory at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece on Sunday, reigniting his FIA World Rally Championship title challenge alongside co-driver Martin Järveoja.
The Hyundai driver had been in fine form all weekend and looked set to complete a clean final day, winning two of Sunday’s four punishing gravel stages. But a gearbox issue struck on the Wolf Power Stage, leaving Tänak to crawl to the finish.
Despite the setback, he had built enough of a margin to hang on – securing his and Hyundai’s first victory since the 2024 Central European Rally by 32.8sec with a result that also ended Toyota’s unbeaten run in 2025.
The result moves the Estonian to within just 12 points of championship leader Elfyn Evans, with Ogier sitting between the pair, two points ahead of Tänak. With his home round in Estonia followed by the ultra-fast stages of Finland next on the calendar, Tänak and Järveoja enter a pivotal stretch on familiar ground.
“I was very worried to be honest,” said Tänak. “In the last stage, third gear got very noisy and I understood that this one broke. Soon, the whole gearbox got very noisy and we didn’t have much confidence that we would finish the stage and get back here. It was definitely far too much stress to win a rally.”
Ogier, who led early in the rally, settled for second – his fifth podium in as many starts this season. The eight-time world champion, who is set to skip the next round, bolted brand-new soft compound tyres to his GR Yaris Rally1 for the final loop and snatched the Wolf Power Stage win.
“I think we’ve had a super strong weekend,” Ogier said. “There wasn’t much we could do to Ott – he was really flying.”
Adrien Fourmaux celebrated his second podium with Hyundai in third after recovering from Saturday suspension damage. It was a much-needed result for the Frenchman, who hadn’t scored points since his fifth-place finish in the Canary Islands back in April.
Championship leader Evans took fourth place despite opening the road on Friday. A solid haul of points – including fourth in the Wolf Power Stage – helped minimise the damage to his title lead.
Thierry Neuville salvaged fifth overall after Friday punctures derailed his early podium push. A damaged shock absorber and a mysterious technical issue – which forced the Belgian to stop and restart his car in the penultimate stage – further compounded a frustrating weekend.
Grégoire Munster had been running just behind before M-Sport opted to retire his Puma Rally1 during Saturday evening service due to a technical issue – promoting WRC2 winner Oliver Solberg to sixth overall.
Solberg led home a pack of WRC2 runners, with Gus Greensmith holding off Yohan Rossel to claim second in the category and seventh overall. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Alejandro Cachón completed the top 10.
Toyota duo Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta both returned under restart rules following Saturday retirements. Rovanperä’s hopes of scoring Super Sunday points were dashed by a wheel change on SS15, while Katsuta was forced to stop and change a wheel in the Wolf Power Stage.
The WRC resumes at Delfi Rally Estonia (17 – 20 July), where high speeds and home support await Tänak as the title fight reaches a crucial phase.
Rally Classification:
1. O Tänak / M Järveoja EST Hyundai i20 N Rally1 4h 12m 20.1s
2. S Ogier / V Landais FRA Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +32.8s
3. A Fourmaux / A Coria FRA Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +3m 09.8s
4. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +3m 31.1s
5. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +8m 59.5s
6. O Solberg / E Edmondson SWE Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +10m 34.7s
Drivers’ Championship Standings (After round 7 of 14):
1. E Evans 150 pts
2. S Ogier 141 pts
3. O Tänak 138 pts
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