EKO Acropolis Rally Greece: Preview

The World Rally Championship heads to the Mediterranean peninsula for the EKO Acropolis Rally Greece, despite a stunning backdrop the rally is set to be one of the toughest.

After a weekend of smooth asphalt roads, the WRC heads to Greece – and gravel roads – for the 10th round of the 2022 championship.

The rally, dubbed the ‘Rally of Gods,’ was reintroduced to the calendar last season for the first time since 2013, when Toyota’s championship winner, Sebastian Ogier, held a 38-point lead over his teammate Elfyn Evans.

While the treacherous gravel roads aren’t what they used to be, back when the country hosted one of the founding rounds in 1973, they will still pose a challenge to the drivers who blast through them.

Some of the most challenging stages, back in the seventies, will make an appearance this weekend with the likes of; Elatia, Bauxites and Tarzan.

The Itinerary

The action will start with a superspecial stage at Greece’s Olympic Stadium on Thursday evening, with more than 60,000 spectators watching the action unfold as the cars race, two-at-a-time, around the 1.95km stage.

After an overnight stay, it will be an early start for the competitors as they have to be at Loutraki 1 in the early hours on Friday morning. The day will be long and the drivers will have to remain focused for 108.31km, across the day’s six stages.

The first car is set to leave the service park at 05:53am and there will be no service until Friday evening.

Saturday will stand as the longest day of the weekend, in terms of competitive travel, as the drivers will have to contend with 147.98km with Pyrgos opening up the day with a 33.20km stage – the longest stage of the rally.

The teams will have to repeat the loop, between stages: Pyrgos, Perivoli and Tarzan, to finish off the day.

Only three stages are lined up on Sunday with Eleftherohori 1 (SS14) as the opening stage. SS15 will consist of the Elatia-Rengini 11.26km stretch before the second loop of Eleftherohori is ran, again, for the WOLF Power Stage.

At the end of the event, the drivers who manage to make it to the end without issue would have raced over 303km, in 16 stages.

The tyres

Pirelli will supply the WR with its Scorpion KX WRC tyres for all of the Rally1 cars. The hard compound would be more beneficial for stages that are hot and dry while the softer compound will be optimal for more damp, and cooler, conditions.

Across the weekend, the teams and drivers can use a maximum of 28 tyres for the event which includes four for the shakedown event.

That’s all for the article: EKO Acropolis Rally Greece: Preview! What are you looking forward to ahead of EKO Acropolis Rally Greece? Let us know in the comments!

Read more WRC here:

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• Rally Belgium: Tanak leads after Neuville crashes
• Craig Breen crashes out of Rally Belgium
• Rally Belgium: Neuville leads as Rovanpera rolls out
• Rally Finland: Ott Tanak secures second win of season

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.