The Event Preview

As the 2005 WRC season reaches its mid-point, teams head back to the Mediterranean next week to contest round eight of the 16 rally series, the Acropolis Rally of Greece. The final event in a quartet of hot and rough Mediterranean gravel rallies, the Acropolis is renowned for its high temperatures, abrasive surfaces and loose rocks that litter the stages.

The rally has a reputation as a car-breaker, with tyres and mechanical components pushed to the limit along rough dirt tracks at average speeds higher than those on the preceding rounds in Cyprus and Turkey. The scorching Greek summer weather makes conditions inside the cockpit almost as unpleasant as those outside, with drivers facing searing heat, clouds of dust and a very bumpy ride.

Although the event is based in central Greece, around the HQ town of Lamia, Thursday's start will take place in Athens with an ambitious side-by-side Superspecial stage built in the Olympic Stadium. The stage features two 1.2km loops, a bridge crossover and an asphalt road surface - even though the cars will be fitted with gravel tyres. With 45,000 of the 60,000 available tickets already sold, and with a guest list that includes the Greek Prime Minister, the Acropolis Superspecial looks set to be one of the most extravagant stages of the season.

Entries

The Subaru World Rally Team will be entering a three-car team in the Acropolis Rally. The three Subaru Impreza WRC2005's will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn MacNeall) and Stéphane Sarrazin (co-driven by Denis Giraudet).

After winning the event last year in a Subaru Impreza WRC2004, Petter Solberg has the best possible form ahead of this year's Acropolis. With the 2005 Championship title battle intensifying, Petter will be seeking to secure another good points finish next week. There are different objectives for Petter's two Subaru team-mates, Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Sarrazin, as neither has contested the event before. Instead, both of the WRC newcomers will be concentrating on learning more about their cars in the specialist conditions. Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson have been nominated as the two SWRT drivers eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' Championship.

Driver Quotes

Petter Solberg: "I'm heading to Greece with the objective to win. I'm ready for a big attack, I expect to take a few risks, but I'm planning to do all I can to take ten points. I think the whole team and me are so determined to win now that we have the same goals - win the next rally, get back on track and get the winning spirit. I'm not going there for second place. I like the Acropolis rally a lot. It's rough and rocky, but that's normally good for Subaru and Pirelli, I think they have a good formula in the conditions and I hope the combination will be successful. The stage in the stadium sounds like fun. I'm pleased that so may people who love rallying will get the chance to see the cars. Sometimes it's difficult for them to get out on the stages. Driving on gravel tyres won't be any problem - it'll make a hell of a show."

Chris Atkinson: "Once again it's a new rally for me and I'm looking forward to starting it. I'm expecting the Greek stages to present a different sort of challenge to the Turkish ones, but Subaru has a good history there. I've only been to the Rally of Greece once before, and then only as a spectator, but from what I saw, the mixture of conditions will make the stages good fun to drive. My main objective for the rally is to run at a solid pace all weekend, not push too hard, and get a solid overall result. I've been taking full advantage of the Superally regulations so far this year, but I'm hoping I won't need to in Greece."

Stéphane Sarrazin: "I'm feeling fine and really looking forward to the second gravel rally in my career. I think for next week I will have a good car and I'm ready to give my best effort. After my last rally in Sardinia I was very happy with the feeling, and next week I'll be trying to improve myself and push a bit more. Since Sardinia my pace-note system with Denis has developed a lot, and we have had opportunities to practise it on the recces in Cyprus and Turkey. My main objective is to improve my car control, it has more performance available than I am using just yet, so I hope that we'll learn more get more speed and continue like that."

The Car / The Challenge

Subaru World Rally Team Principal, David Lapworth: "We're expecting the Acropolis rally to be a much hotter and harder event than the last round in Turkey, where the stages were in particularly good condition. The roads are rocky, rough and similar in character to those in Cyprus, just not quite as twisty. The rally features two new stages this year, but on the whole it's an event that we know well, and one on which we've had a good deal of success. Petter won the rally last year and it's fair to say that the Impreza/Pirelli partnership has a good track record there.

After Cyprus and Turkey, I expect that most manufacturers will be well prepared for this event. What this typically means is that teams tend to be less conservative than they might have been. Because this is the third rough event in a row, and drivers have got a good feeling for the pace, the car, tyre wear and so on, there shouldn't be any surprises, and you'd expect that drivers would push a little harder than normal. Next week we will be using a Pirelli tyre that was originally designed to suit the sort of conditions we would expect to find in Greece. We had the same tyre available in Turkey but the weather wasn't as expected and it didn't really suit the conditions. Greece at end of June should be pretty hot, and we're expecting to use the new tyre in its ideal environment.

Strategically, the season is starting to get interesting for us. On the Acropolis rally we're going to be pushing hard for a win, but we have to balance the level of risk very carefully. Of course Petter has to start taking some risks if he's to win the Championship, yet he can't throw caution to the wind. We can't afford to score any more zeros. What's clear is that at this stage of the season, consistency is still the main priority. Were certainly not into the high-risk scenario yet. Stéphane will be starting only his second ever WRC gravel rally so clearly his focus will be on learning. It's another development event for Chris too. As another newcomer, the whole of this season is a learning experience for him and the emphasis isn't really on results at the moment. Nevertheless, as he's getting more mileage under his belt, we expect to start seeing him score points."

Between the Rallies

With rallies coming thick and fast at this point in the season, Petter has still managed to squeeze in a few marathon sessions at the gym, the odd adventure on his quad bike and a spot of fishing on a lake with his son Oliver. Petter won't reveal how many fish he caught, but Oliver did okay with three. On June 15th Petter flew to Wales for a test the following day, the focus of which was the Impreza's transmission system and other more general research and development work. Chris, Glenn and Phil were also tearing through the countryside in Wales this week, but at a slightly more sedate pace. The team's fitness trainer, John Mills, accompanied the trio on a 35km bicycle ride from the Welsh mountain biking centre in Nat-yr-Arian, near Aberystwyth. Apart from driving rain and a few punctures, the event was deemed a great success. Circuit ace Stéphane Sarrazin is making final preparations in France ahead of the Le Mans 24hr race, which starts at 1600hrs on Saturday. One of the three drivers of car number 59, Stéphane will fly from Paris to Greece on Monday to meet the rest of the team and start the recce.

Rally Acropolis Preview

The Acropolis Rally is based at Lamia, approximately 200kms north east of Athens. After dropping the traditional ceremonial start in Athens last year, the rally will return to the capital this year for a start ceremony and superspecial inside the spectacular stadium built for the 2004 Olympic Games.

After Thursday night's start the cars will be brought back to Lamia from where the remainder of the event will be based. On Friday crews face two loops of three stages (including two attempts at the 32.55kms of Elatia-Zeli). Saturday sees two groups of four stages on the schedule while Sunday's final leg features four tests including Pyrgos which, at 34.80kms, is the longest of the event. The rally finishes at Thermopyles, approximately 15kms from Lamia, at 1445 local time (1345 CET).

Citroen

The big questions in Greece this weekend (24-26 June 2005) will be can Sébastien Loeb make it five World Rally Championship wins in a row, further extending his lead in the World Rally Drivers' Championship, and can Carlos Sainz add enough points to Citroën's tally to put the car maker back in the lead for the manufacturers' title chase.Consecutive successes with the Citroën Xsara in New Zealand, Sardinia, Cyprus and Turkey have taken Sébastien Loeb 13 points clear at the top of the provisional Drivers' championship standings, while Citroën has moved to within just 4 points of top spot in the Manufacturers' table.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena: "I am effectively beginning to have good experience of Greece. But this year's route features some 80 km of new stages and the weather is another unknown factor. Statistically, rain is rare in Greece in June, but two of my tyre choices last year proved unsuitable. One because it rained and the other because the rain I was expecting didn't happen. As for the lessons we have learnt from the last two events, the fight at the sharp end in Cyprus was prematurely truncated and the rain took everyone by surprise in Turkey. So, yes, we have the necessary cards in hand to win, but since we don't know what cards our rivals hold we will be as cautious as we usually are."

Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti: "I think our strategy will be the same as in Turkey. I absolutely need to finish, and in the big points. Naturally, if I see an opportunity to finish better than 4th then I will perhaps change tactics. Above all, I hope we don't hit any problems so that I can help Citroën as much as I can one last time."

Subaru

The Subaru World Rally Team will be entering a three-car team in the Acropolis Rally. The three Subaru Impreza WRC2005's will be driven by Petter Solberg (co-driven by Phil Mills) Chris Atkinson (co-driven by Glenn MacNeall) and Stéphane Sarrazin (co-driven by Denis Giraudet). After winning the event last year in a Subaru Impreza WRC2004, Petter Solberg has the best possible form ahead of this year's Acropolis.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "I'm heading to Greece with the objective to win. I'm ready for a big attack, I expect to take a few risks, but I'm planning to do all I can to take ten points. I think the whole team and me are so determined to win now that we have the same goals - win the next rally, get back on track and get the winning spirit. I'm not going there for second place. I like the Acropolis rally a lot. It's rough and rocky, but that's normally good for Subaru and Pirelli, I think they have a good formula in the conditions and I hope the combination will be successful. The stage in the stadium sounds like fun. I'm pleased that so may people who love rallying will get the chance to see the cars. Sometimes it's difficult for them to get out on the stages. Driving on gravel tyres won't be any
problem - it'll make a hell of a show."

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "Once again it's a new rally for me and I'm looking forward to starting it. I'm expecting the Greek stages to present a different sort of challenge to the Turkish ones, but Subaru has a good history there. I've only been to the Rally of Greece once before, and then only as a spectator, but from what I saw, the mixture of conditions will make the stages good fun to drive. My main objective for the rally is to run at a solid pace all weekend, not push too hard, and get a solid overall result. I've been taking full advantage of the Superally regulations so far this year, but I'm hoping I won't need to in Greece."

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: "I'm feeling fine and really looking forward to the second gravel rally in my career. I think for next week I will have a good car and I'm ready to give my best effort. After my last rally in Sardinia I was very happy with the feeling, and next week I'll be trying to improve myself and push a bit more. Since Sardinia my pace-note system with Denis has developed a lot, and we have had opportunities to practise it on the recces in Cyprus and Turkey. My main objective is to improve my car control, it has more performance available than I am using just yet, so I hope that we'll learn more get more speed and continue like that."

Ford

With the championship reaching the halfway point and Ford lying third in the manufacturers' standings, BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson has given both drivers the go-ahead to drive flat out. "Toni has the opportunity to drive at 100 percent from the very first kilometre and I expect him to show the pace that brought him podium finishes on the first two rounds. For the past few rallies Roman has been under orders to drive cautiously and ensure that he brought the car to the finish. He has done a great job by avoiding trouble and scoring points on the last three events. Now I've told him that he can drive at maximum from the start here and show me his pace," said Wilson.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: This rally is the best of the rough rallies we do," said the 30-year-old Finn. "It's normally the quickest and the roads are much better now than they were five years ago. They're wider and probably not as rough as they used to be, but still a tough challenge. I enjoy driving there and think it would be realistic to aim for a podium finish. I have a good strong car and I'd like to have a clean run and get a good position for the team."

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "I'm really looking forward to Greece because it's a nice rally in which to drive," said the Czech. "But it's also a difficult one. It's rough but can also be quite fast and that combination is hard for the cars. The roads are quite wide and for the second pass through the stages they will be quite clean. I would compare some sections to the roads we encountered in Sardinia."

Peugeot

After Sardinia, Cyprus and Turkey, the long tour of Mediterranean gravel rallies that kicked off at the beginning of April will end over the sun-baked tracks of central Greece. Peugeot goes to the eighth round of the season with every intention of defending its lead in the Manufacturers' championship.

Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "This hasn't been my most successful rally. There's no particular explanation for that. It's basically down to luck. It's an event I like, and I think it has improved with the years. I would naturally love to win the Acropolis Rally, twenty or so years after Juha Kankkunen picked up Peugeot's last success there. The competition is likely to be very fierce. My aim is above all to score points for the team."

Markko Martin/Michael Park: "The stages are hard-wearing and it can get very hot. You have to cover many stages on the different loops with no opportunity to change tyres, so good tyre management is crucial. So far, I've never done things by halves in Greece. It's either been very good or very bad. This year, I will mainly be looking to pick up points for the team."

Skoda

The Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team will enter three cars for the eighth round of the World Rally Championship, the Acropolis Rally (June 23-26) where Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka will drive the Fabia WRC 05 alongside nominated crews Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha and Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula.  Jani joins the team for the second three-car entry of the year at the beginning of a busy period of development that will see entries on at least two national status events and two more three-car entries (in Germany and Finland) over the next two months.

Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "I look forward all year to the Acropolis Rally. It is traditionally fast and rough and it is one of my favourite events. You need a strong and reliable car to cope with the abrasive surface that is very hard on tyres and suspension."

Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula: "This is a hard event but it is faster than the last two rallies. It is very easy to damage the car so you have to be clever with your driving. I won the Junior category in 2002 and was seventh here last year."

Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka: "This will be the first time that I have competed in Greece but I have driven the recce twice before so I have a good idea about the stages. We also had a good test in Greece so I am feeling quite confident and I hope to be able to get a solid result for the team."

Mitsubishi

The Acropolis Rally (June 23-26) marks the last in a trilogy of eastern mediterranean events for the FIA World Rally Championship contenders, and the Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team heads to one of the oldest rallies confident in the ability of the Lancer WRC05 after promising performances in Cyprus and Turkey. Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen once again lead the assault, while "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore - who briefly led the Rally of Turkey - have been rewarded for their efforts by being registered in the second Lancer WRC05.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "Greece is an event I really like", said Harri. "It's not such a difficult rally and has been quite fast in the last few years. It's no longer such a rally of survival, like it has been; now it's not so rough and you have to go flat out from the start".

Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "For sure it is not an advantage to have such little experience, but Turkey was the same and hopefully we can make something good again. I think we should be careful to start with, understand the conditions and then decide on our strategy".

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Event Timetable

LEG 1 : Athens - Lamia
337 km
7 Special Stages (128.06 km)
Thursday 23 June2005 : 17.45 - 19.00
SSS1 Athens Olympic Stadium (2.4 km) : 18.00
Friday 24 June 2005 : 09.00 - 23.00

LEG 2 : Lamia - Lamia
Saturday 25 June 2005 : 08.30 - 24.00
422 km
8 Special Stages (122.72 km)

LEG 3 : Lamia - Lamia
Sunday 26 June2005 : 07.00 - 14.25
306 km
4 Special Stages (98.79 km)

Total distance 1065 km - 19 Special Stages (349.57 km)

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Event Statistics

- First organised in 1952 as the Elpa Rally, the Greek event became known as the Acropolis Rally the following year and has been a round of the World Championship since the creation of the latter in 1973. It was renamed the Acropolis Rally of Greece last year.

- The time difference between Greece (GMT +2) and Continental Europe (GMT +1) is one hour (to be subtracted from the times listed below to obtain Continental European time).

- For the third successive year, the rally is based in Lamia (215 km north-west of Athens). The National Trade Fair Centre hosts the start, finish and single service park.

- The total length of this year's event is 1,065.57 km, including 349.57 km divided into 19 stages (12 different).

- Recce is scheduled for Tuesday June 21st and Wednesday June 22nd (07:00 until 19:00). Recce of the Athens super-special is on Monday June 20th (between 08:00 and 17:00) or Thursday June 23rd (between 13:00 and 17:00) and recce of the shakedown is on Tuesday June 21st (17:00 until 21:00). Seven of the twelve stages were run in 2004, one of which (Grammeni) is a mix of new sections or portions between Agios Stefanos and Stirfaka run in the opposite direction, while four stages (including the super-special) are new.

- Located near Nea Magnesia, 6.3 km north-east of the service park, the 3.95 km shakedown stage (Thursday June 23rd, 07:00 until 10:00) is identical to that of 2004.

-The super-special (Thursday June 2"rd, 18:00) takes place in the stadium which hosted the 2004 Olympic Games. It marks the event's return to Athens which hasn't been visited since the 2003 start ceremony.

Rally Acropolis Leaderboard:

1. S. Loeb / D. Elena Citroen 1:24.37,6
2. M. Grönholm / T. Rautiainen Peugeot +0:06,1
C. Sainz / M. Marti Citroen +0:14,0
4. T. Gardemeister / J. Honkanen Ford +0:17,7
5. M. Hirvonen / J. Lehtinen Ford  +0:48,8
6. H. Rovanperä / R. Pietiläinen Mitsubishi +1:08,3
7. H. Solberg / C. Menkerud +1:10,7
8. G. Galli / G. DAmore Mitsubishi +1:37,8
9. M. Märtin / M. Park Peugeot +1:49,7
10. T. Johansson / K. Lindström Subaru +2:01,4
11. K. Sohlberg / T. Hantunen Subaru +2:12,3
12.  J. Paasonen / J. Vainikka Skoda A8 +2:19,4
13. X. Pons / O. Julia Citroen A8 + 2:20,8
14. P. Solberg / P. Mills Subaru +3:07,8
15. A. Vovos / E. Em Subaru +3:20,8

Leg One News

Despite having the worst of the road conditions, Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) ended the day with a 6.1sec advantage over Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot). Grönholm had the upper hand for most of the day, despite having to switch to a manual gearchange system this morning, but the Frenchman moved ahead with a blistering time on the final stage.  Carlos Sainz (Citroen), competing on his final WRC rally, kept out of trouble to claim third, just 3.7sec ahead of Gardemeister.  Behind Hirvonen, Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) held sixth despite handling problems on both runs through the long stage at the end of each group.  Petter Solberg (Subaru) is 14th after struggling with handling problems when he lost his car's spoiler after going off the road on the second stage.  Then a broken rear driveshaft this afternoon cost almost three minutes.  Team-mates Chris Atkinson and Stephane Sarrazin retired after stage six with engine and rear suspension problems respectively. Team-mates Armin Schwarz and Janne Tuohino (Skoda) were early casualties. Schwarz stopped with engine problems while Tuohino was sidelined with gearbox troubles.

Citroen

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena, Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti and their respective Xsara WRCs completed the first full day of the 2005 Acropolis Rally, run in scorching sunshine, in 1st and 3rd places in Lamia this evening. With fastest times to its name in four of the seven stages contested to date, Citroën has got its weekend in Greece off to a flying start.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena:  "I didn't feel 100% comfortable. I was unsure of both my set-up and my driving, but at the end of the day I think this was probably due to the stages themselves as much as anything."

Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti: I obviously benefited from a cleaner surface. I tried to keep it very clean, taking extra care through the rougher portions. The balance of my Xsara suits me perfectly. It is more to my liking, more precise than in Turkey. I feel very confident. I used the narrow tyre for both loops and that proved perfect. I am obviously delighted to be in 3rd place this evening. It's a very good position for Citroën."

Subaru

After a disappointing first Leg on the Acropolis Rally of Greece, Petter Solberg holds fourteenth position overall with two more days of competition remaining.  Petter's chances of a good result were dealt a blow on the second stage of the rally, when his car slid off the road and into a ditch. Later on, a broken driveshaft severely limited his potential for recovery. Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Sarrazin achieved their primary objectives of learning more about their cars and the event. Both are hoping to re-start the rally tomorrow under Superally regulations after separate incidents caused them to retire on the penultimate stage today.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "We've had such bad luck today and so many things have gone against us. Everything that we'd planned went completely wrong and I'm very disappointed. Damaging the driveshaft at such a critical part of the day, with three stages ahead, left me no opportunity to fight. It's very hard to accept, but that's just how it is. For now, I have to pick myself up, concentrate on the best possible finish and try my hardest tomorrow. This rally has shown that anything can happen, so we'll just have to see."

Chris Atkinson/Glen MacNeall: "My aim for this event was to get to the finish and because of that the strategy for today was to take a conservative approach, without too many risks, in order that we could learn more for later on. Things were going to plan, but we made some changes to the car at the mid-point service, which I think in hindsight made the car a bit too soft. We were able to drive around the problem though, but at the end of SS6 we encountered an engine problem and the team felt it was unwise to continue without a thorough investigation."

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: "Overall the car felt really good today. Had it not been for our punctures our times were good and I'm very pleased. I like the settings of the car and felt very comfortable. I am optimistic for tomorrow once we've completed the usual service this evening."

Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen lie fourth after today's exciting and extremely demanding opening leg of the Acropolis Rally of Greece.  Their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car has been in the midst of a thrilling battle at the head of the leaderboard which saw the top five cars covered by just 3.6 seconds at the midpoint of the day's action.

The privately-entered Focus RS of fellow Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen was also involved in the fight for top spot.  They took full advantage of better road conditions lower down the start order to hold a surprise lead on this eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship this morning.  They are fifth tonight with another privately-entered Focus RS of Norwegians Henning Solberg and Cato Menkerud in seventh.

It was a disappointing day for BP-Ford team-mates Roman Kresta and Jan Mozný.  The Czechs hit a bank just 3km after the start of the opening stage and snapped the front left steering arm on their Focus RS.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "I drove hard from the first kilometre and I'm really pleased with the day. The Focus handled perfectly and I've not made any changes to the settings.  Our only problem was on the last stage of the morning group when the engine twice cut out briefly.  I lost no more than a couple of seconds but I couldn't find anything wrong."

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: "It happened at a left-right corner, the same bend as Toni had a problem.  I turned into the right bend over a dip and the car slid into the bank on the left, breaking the steering.  I'm really disappointed because Malcolm had told me I could drive flat out and I was looking forward to the weekend," said Kresta.  He will restart tomorrow in 50th place under the SupeRally regulations that allow retired competitors to restart the following day with a time penalty.

Peugeot

Marcus Gronholm showed himself to be completely at ease in the tough conditions, leading the rally before conceding a lead of just six seconds to Sebastien Loeb on the final stage. Marcus is nearly eight seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz, who is currently third.

Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "It's been quite a good day for me, with only a small problem with the paddleshift on the steering wheel, which stopped working on SS3 and SS4. I had to use the back-up lever, which was much slower. I was also held back by my tyres, which went off from the middle of the two long 32-kilometre stages. But at the end of the day I am happy as I have set three fastest times and I am only six seconds behind Sebastien Loeb. I think tomorrow's stages will suit us better: these stages are the most difficult of the rally. The surfaces are very damaging, and our tyres should work well in these conditions. I'm going to attack!"

Markko Martin/Michael Park: "I don't really understand today. The car seemed difficult to drive; maybe my choice of tyres was not the best for the afternoon's loop of stages. Tomorrow I will go back to the tyre choice we had this morning, which seemed to work better for us."

Skoda

Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team driver Jani Paasonen lies 12th overall after the opening day of the Acropolis Rally but team mates Armin Schwarz and Janne Tuohino were both forced to withdraw. Armin will continue under SupeRally but Janne has now retired from the event.

Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "We started to feel something was wrong as the first stage went on and the car gradually lost power then just stopped completely on the road section. We are not exactly sure what caused it but there was a lot of fuel in the engine area and I was worried that there might be a fire."

Janne Tuohino/Mikko Markkula: "The car was running fine in the early part of the stage and our split times were exactly as we had expected from testing. However we must have hit something in the middle of the road about 6kms from the end of the stage and when we tried to start the next stage the car wouldn't move."

Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka: "I have tried to keep my driving neat and careful today because I know I couldn't repeat what happened in Mexico. The car is fine and apart from making some minor adjustments I am very happy with how today has gone."

Mitsubishi:

At the end of the opening leg of the Acropolis Rally, the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC crew of Harri Rovanperä/Risto Pietiläinen head the team assault in sixth position. Lancer WRC05 team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore have maintained a consistent pace and climb from an earlier 10th to eighth overall in only their second visit to Greece.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "Things are going quite well, but the long stages (SS4/7) were quite tough for us. In the one this morning the handling went very strange in the last 8-10 kilometers because the tires went off, and during the same stage this afternoon it was like the dampers weren't working one hundred percent. It's difficult to know exactly what was happening, but our position is not so bad and we will keep pushing hard tomorrow."

Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "I am quite happy because our strategy is working. This morning I was quite careful but I then drove a bit more aggressively over the same stages this afternoon. For sure it was easier with the notes in the second lap, because once you have done the stages in the rally car you have a better feeling and can make small changes to the notes. We had a bit of a problem with the front brakes this morning, but I think that was my fault because I'm on them too much, again because of our lack of experience here. This afternoon we just had one spin (SS5); we had a right rear puncture and it just took a little longer for the EMI to work. Tomorrow, our plan will stay the same and we will see what we can do."
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Remaining Event Timetable

LEG 2 : Lamia - Lamia
Saturday 25 June 2005 : 08.30 - 24.00
422 km
8 Special Stages (122.72 km)

LEG 3 : Lamia - Lamia
Sunday 26 June2005 : 07.00 - 14.25
306 km
4 Special Stages (98.79 km)

Total distance 1065 km - 19 Special Stages (349.57 km)

Rally Acropolis Leaderboard:

1 LOEB/ELENA            CITROEN TOTAL                      2:54:28.8
2 GARDEMEISTER/HONKANEN  BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM            +01:24.6
3 SAINZ/MARTI            Citroën Total                        +01:32.3
4 GRÖNHOLM/RAUTIAINEN    MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL              +02:44.1
5 HIRVONEN/LEHTINEN      BP FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM            +02:50.3
6 ROVANPERA/PIETILAINEN  MITSUBISHI MOTORS MOTOR SPORTS      +03:17.2
7 GALLI/DAMORE          MITSUBISHI MOTORS MOTOR SPORTS      +03:54.4
8 MARTIN/PARK            MARLBORO PEUGEOT TOTAL              +04:19.6
9 SOLBERG/MILLS          SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM              +05:27.3
10 JOHANSSON/LINDSTROM    RALLY TEAM OLSBERG                  +05:32.4

Leg Two News

Championship leader Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) dominated the leg as the Frenchman closed in on a record-breaking fifth consecutive victory.  He was fastest on all eight stages to extend his advantage to 1min 24.6sec.  Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) was his closest challenger throughout the morning but he broke a driveshaft early on the second stage of the afternoon loop and dropped more than two minutes in the remaining three tests to slide to fourth.  Carlos Sainz (Citroen) punctured four tyres on the opening loop but lost no time and punctured two more when he left the road briefly on the final stage.  Sixth-placed Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) struggled for grip during the afternoon while team-mate Gigi Galli dropped 40 seconds this morning after losing turbo boost.  Jani Paasonen (Skoda) retired after crashing on the second stage while Petter Solberg (Subaru) climbed back to ninth after yesterday's problems.

Citroen

A grand slam run today, which harvested eight fastest stage times from a possible eight, has seen Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Xsara WRC extend their lead in the 2005 Acropolis Rally, while Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti still figure in 3rd position, more than a minute clear of their closest chaser. With a further 100km of competitive action to come tomorrow, Citroën enjoys an appreciable advantage at the sharp end of tonight's provisional leaderboard.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena:  "I pushed hard in the first two stages of the morning's loop, and even harder in the last two which were cleaner. I felt really comfortable during the morning running on the narrower Michelins. When I feel as good as I do today at the wheel of my Xsara, I can do what I want with it. And that's a terrific feeling!"

Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti: "My main objective is still to score points for Citroën. If I can do that and finish on the podium too, it will be a bonus."

Subaru

Petter Solberg endured another tough time on today's second Leg of the Acropolis Rally of Greece. Starting this morning from 14th place overall, after problems on yesterday's first Leg, his opportunities to fight back were badly affected by a poor starting position. Despite running as the second car through the sandy and slippery stages, Solberg made up five places during the day and holds ninth place overnight. Re-starting the rally today under the Superally system, Stéphane Sarrazin enjoyed a trouble-free Leg in his Impreza WRC2005. On only the second gravel rally of his career, the Frenchman grew in confidence throughout the day and traded stage times with other far more experienced WRC drivers.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "It's been a very difficult day. Running so close to the head of the field meant we had the worst possible road surface, and we simply couldn't go any faster. There was a lot of fine, sandy gravel out there and it was very, very slippery. I did my best, and the car has been perfectly reliable, but it was never going to be enough to make up for the road position. It's frustrating to be so uncompetitive on stages that I won last year - but I suppose not entirely unexpected in the circumstances. We made a few adjustments to the car set-up at the mid-point service, but somehow the package didn't come together properly. For tomorrow we'll keep fighting, keep doing our best, and aim to take away as many points as possible."

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: "I'm finding this rally is a lot harder than Sardinia, but I'm enjoying the challenge. I felt a lot more confident on the second pass through the stages this afternoon, we took a different tyre and of course had the benefit of experience at that point, but it felt much better. There are still plenty of areas in which I can improve - my pace notes for instance are still too cautious - but I'm happy with the progress. It's good to be exchanging times with some of the more experienced gravel drivers. The car has run perfectly, we've had no problems at all, and I'm looking forward to the final four new stages tomorrow."

Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen lie second in the Acropolis Rally of Greece tonight after another thrilling day's action over tough gravel mountain roads.  The flying Finns fought tooth and nail with Carlos Sainz throughout the second leg of this eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship and a series of lightning quick times on the afternoon speed tests powered their Ford Focus RS World Rally Car ahead of the Spaniard.
Fellow countrymen Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen maintained their overnight fifth position in a privately-entered Focus RS after eight more demanding gravel special stages, covering 122.72km, south of the rally base in Lamia.  Norway's Henning Solberg and Cato Menkerud held seventh in another privately-entered Focus RS but crashed out this afternoon.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "We've had a good battle with Carlos," said Gardemeister.  "We wanted to get ahead of him and I knew that if I pushed a little harder I could do that.  I drove over a lot of stones but it seems that this rally is suiting me and, especially, the Focus.  It seems that you have to take some risks to go fast here.  It has been different to yesterday and quite rough in places.  I'm happier with today but the stages were nicer to drive yesterday."

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Retired (electrical problems)

Peugeot

At the start of the second stage of this afternoon's loop, Marcus Gronholm came onto the Peugeot Total team radio to announce that he thought he had broken a driveshaft. He was left to complete the unlucky stage 13, as well as two further stages totalling 28 kilometres, before he could have the problem fixed at service.
The problem was eventually traced to an inexpensive yet essential jubilee clip in the transmission, but the damage had already been done. Marcus lost nearly two minutes and his comfortable second place. The Finn is now fourth, with a 2m44s gap to the leader.

Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "On the road section after the short SS12, I felt the car pull to one side and at first I thought it was a problem with a wheel or a tyre. But then off the line on the next stage the transmission was slipping, so I knew the problem was much more serious. The only thing I could do was lock the diffs and try to carry on, but the car was extremely difficult to drive. We did everything we could but of course we lost a lot of time so the chances to win are gone. Now we just have to concentrate on scoring the most points possible."

Markko Martin/Michael Park: "Today was fine - we had no real problems. We made a generally good tyre choice for all the stages and the car was entirely reliable. There are maybe some little things that we can change at service but basically we are concentrating on getting to the finish. There is not much else to report."

Skoda

After the second day of the Acropolis Rally Skoda Motorsport World Rally Team driver Armin Schwarz remains one place outside the manufacturers' points positions. Armin climbed 24 places today and was among the top eight times on SS14 but is carrying a 25 minute penalty for the sections he missed during the opening day. Without that he would be lying eighth overall this evening. Jani Paasonen's hopes of improving on his overnight 12th place were dashed on this morning's second stage when he slid wide and rolled 20 metres over a sheer drop. Both Jani and co-driver Jani Vainikka were unhurt but there was damage to the roll cage of the Fabia WRC 05 and that means it will not be possible for him to continue in the rally tomorrow.

Armin Schwarz/Klaus Wicha: "With the SupeRally penalty the only thing today was to drive for the finish and to try some new things on the car. We can still get into the points if we are lucky so we have to keep going."

Jani Paasonen/Jani Vainikka: "I was trying so hard not to make a mistake and so this was really bad luck. It was about 12kms into the stage on a fast left into a tightening right. The car slid a little bit wide and the left wheels went over the edge of the road. Normally there is something extra there but this time there was just nothing. The car rolled about three times and it was so slow that I had a lot of time to think about what was happening. It stopped about 20 metres down with no chance to get back."

Mitsubishi:

The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC crew of Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen lead the team's assault in the Acropolis Rally, and Lancer WRC05 team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore have powered up the leaderboard, overhauling Markko Märtin in the process. The crews hold sixth and seventh respectively with just four stages remaining in this, the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "Mid- way through SS13 the gear-shift alarm came on and then another three or four kilometers later I missed second gear and switched to the manual system. It was tricky though and we lost time because the stage was so twisty. Then we had a puncture in the same stage, although it was impossible to tell which one. There was a vibration and we changed the front right for the next stage, but it was the same situation. We ended up changing all four tires, but then had another puncture on the front right before the start of the last stage! The tires were also too hard this afternoon, even though the roads were cleaner."

Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "Today has been good, other than the one small problem with the engine this morning. We started the day carefully and are sticking to our original tactics; this is good. Despite the engine problem, our position stayed the same and then we were able to pass Markko. For sure it is easier for me in the second lap each day, as I am learning the roads more, but the goal remains to learn for the future. Tomorrow three of the four stages are new so this will make it more even between everyone and it will be interesting to compare our performance in these conditions.
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Remaining Event Timetable

LEG 3 : Lamia - Lamia
Sunday 26 June2005 : 07.00 - 14.25
306 km
4 Special Stages (98.79 km)

Total distance 1065 km - 19 Special Stages (349.57 km)

Rally Acropolis Final Positions:

1.  S Loeb/D Elena                     F    Citroen Xsara       4hr 12min 53.7sec
2.  T Gardemeister/J Honkanen   FIN Ford Focus RS      4hr 14min 29.9sec
3.  C Sainz/M Marti                    E     Citroen Xsara      4hr 15min 04.8sec
4.  M Grönholm/T Rautiainen      FIN  Peugeot 307        4hr 15min 50.1sec
5.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen           FIN  Ford Focus RS      4hr 16min 06.9sec
6.  H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen     FIN  Mitsubishi Lancer   4hr 16min 38.1sec
7.  G Galli/G D'Amore                I     Mitsubishi Lancer   4hr 18min 13.3sec
8.  M Märtin/M Park                    EE  Peugeot 307          4hr 18min 31.2sec
9.  P Solberg/P Mills                   N    Subaru Impreza    4hr 18min 56.7sec
10 X Pons/C Del Barrio          E               Citroen Xsara           4hr
22min 07.1sec


Final Leg News

Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) created rallying history when he became the first driver to win five consecutive rounds.  The Frenchman won by 1min 36.2sec and now leads the championship by 23 points.  Behind Gardemeister, Carlos Sainz (Citroen) ended his WRC career with a podium finish.  It was his 97th podium from 196 starts.  Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) cruised through the final day to claim fourth while Harri Rovanperä (Mitsubishi) took sixth, despite a tyre vibration on the opening two stages.  Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) and Markko Märtin (Peugeot) claimed the final drivers' points while ninth for Petter Solberg (Subaru) earned his team the final manufacturers' point.

Citroen

Re-united once again in Greece, Citroën's dream team produced another sensational result this weekend. Sébastien Loeb, Daniel Elena and their Xsara WRC were in unbeatable form on their way to claiming their record-equalling sixth win of the season and their fifth in a row, also a record-equalling feat.

Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti also played a capital role in the team's successful weekend by finishing in 3rd position. Their result enables Citroën to regain the lead in the Manufacturers' championship and the Spaniard, a living rally legend, was given a long ovation when he returned to the Lamia service park at the end of the rally to mark his 97th podium finish from 196 world class rallying starts, another truly historic performance! Symbolically, it was in Greece fifteen years ago that he took the first of his 26 WRC victories.

Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena:  "I really took it easy. I wasn't even flat out along some straights over the pebbles towards the end of 'Perivoli'! Five wins in a row? It hasn't really sunk in yet!"

Carlos Sainz/Marc Marti: "A month and a half ago, I was following Citroën's results in the press and phoning up every now and again for a friendly chat. I didn't have the slightest idea I would soon find myself back competing with the Xsara WRC. It's been a fantastic weekend! I am proud to have succeeded in meeting the objective Guy set me, and proud to have scored valuable points in both events. The team is back on top of the championship and I hope it will stay there. They deserve it. As for me, I have finished my career in world class rallying on the podium of the event that gave me my first WRC win. What more could a sportsman ask for?"

Subaru

After three difficult days of competition, Petter Solberg finished the Acropolis Rally of Greece in ninth place this afternoon. Despite a determined effort on today's stages to close the gap on the cars ahead, Solberg was unable to make up the time lost earlier in the rally. Stéphane Sarrazin delivered an impressive performance on only his second gravel rally. Despite the disadvantage of running as one of the first cars through today's four slippery stages, the Frenchman grew in speed and confidence throughout the event.

Petter Solberg/Phil Mills: "As you'd expect I'm disappointed with my result, it's not the one I was hoping for. In fact, I have been disappointed about my results on the last few rallies, that's for sure. But we have to put this aside and look forward to Argentina now. There are plenty of reasons to feel confident about the next rally; I know I can win it. We've reached the mid-point in the Championship and yes, I would have liked to have closed in on Seb, but it's certainly not over yet."

Stephane Sarrazin/Denis Giraudet: "I had a few problems with punctures and tyre choices on Friday and Saturday which interrupted my rhythm on this rally, but re-starting on Saturday allowed me more time to think about the car set-up and I think that was quite a benefit. Generally I'm very pleased with my performance. I think I am making good progress and I'm feeling confident about the future."

Ford

BP-Ford World Rally Team drivers Toni Gardemeister and Jakke Honkanen matched their career-best result by finishing second on the Acropolis Rally of Greece today in a Focus RS World Rally Car.  The Finns equalled their runner-up position on the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally and climbed to third in the FIA World Rally Championship as the series reached its midpoint.  They are one of only two pairings to have scored points on all eight rounds to date.

Toni Gardemeister/Jakke Honkanen: "We've had no big problems and the whole weekend has gone well.  We've pushed hard from the very first kilometre. It's hard to fight against someone as experienced as Carlos but we did it. The Focus has worked well, Michelin's tyres have been excellent and now we have to try to turn second place into a win in the second half of the season."

Roman Kresta/Jan Mozny: Retired (electrical problems)

Peugeot

The final leg of the Acropolis Rally saw no surprises or twists, despite the fearsome reputation of the four stages that made up the end of the Greek event. The last 100 kilometres did not alter the leaderboard, with Marcus Gronholm too far behind Carlos Sainz to stand any hope of catching the Citroen driver. Instead Marcus sensibly chose to make sure of the points for fourth place. Markko Martin had no problems, but he is still looking for a way to find confidence in his 307 WRC.

Marcus Gronhölm/Timo Rautiainen: "There was nothing we could do today; the only thing that could happen is that we made a mistake and went off. So I thought it was best just to bring the car home and make sure of the points. The roads were very rough and extremely dusty. It's been a disappointing rally as we were leading for most of the first day and we would have had a chance to challenge for the win. Looking on the positive side, the performance of the car is better and this is what we have to concentrate on for the future."

Markko Martin/Michael Park: "This has been a strange rally for us: we have had no real problems but we have struggled a bit to find the proper feeling in the car. On the whole our tyre choices have been fine and we have had no mechanical problems at all. We have been able to continue our record of finishing every rally so far this year, and with more time I hope to find a better feeling in the car."

Skoda

Armin Schwarz fought back from 48th position after the opening day to complete the Acropolis Rally of Greece in 18th place. Engine problems halted his progress after the second stage but he continued under SupeRally, picking up sufficient time penalties to deny him a possible points-scoring finish.

Martin Muehlmeier (Head of Skoda Motorsport): "We had hoped that we would be able to show the improvements we have seen in testing on this event but this has not been the case. Once again we had problems early in the event that destroyed our chances. Today's stages have been quite similar to some of the ones we will use in Argentina so Armin has been testing some suspension settings and his times have been quite encouraging. I was also quite pleased with Jani's performance on the first day after being away for several rallies. I still believe that we can get the results we need in the coming events but I also hope that our luck changes very quickly for the better as well."

Mitsubishi:

The Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports WRC team completed a successful Acropolis Rally, its crews bringing both cars to points-scoring finishes in what is viewed as one of the toughest rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen headed the assault and brought their Lancer WRC05 home in sixth position, while team-mates "Gigi" Galli and Guido D'Amore finished hot on their heels in seventh.

Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen: "It was really good to be in a battle and to finish sixth and get points in a rough rally like Greece is good news. It's been a hot weekend and I'm happy our car has worked so well. Every stage was nice, we had no dramas and although the conditions were maybe a little easier than previous years, it was still a normal Acropolis. We've fought all weekend and sixth didn't come easily; I'm especially happy for Mario (Fornaris) that we had a good result on his last rally with the team."

Gigi Galli/Guido D'Amore: "Everything has gone the right way for us; I am happy. I have to say this was always going to be the hardest rally of the year for me, because of my lack of experience, but things have worked well, the car has been very good and I think the whole team should be pleased for a good job. What I can say is that the rally was easier than I expected; I thought it would be rougher from what everyone said."