Ogier takes overnight lead after sole Rally Greece stage

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier has taken the rally lead of the World Rally Championship’s Acropolis Rally Greece, leading his teammate Takamoto Katsuta.

Feature image credit:  Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool

Action officially got underway on Thursday evening with a single super special stage, an asphalt 1.86km course at the Ellinikon Sports Park, where the drivers faced off against each other in pairs.

While Toyota’s Sami Pajari was able to put in a competitive time on the board, he was soon beaten by Hyundai’s 2024 world champion, Ogier and Katsuta.

By the end of the stage, it was the defending nine-time world champion, Ogier, who topped the timing boards with the best time of 1 minute and 38.2 seconds.

Katsuta and Neuville found themselves to be a second off the pace, with the Japanese driver being a whole second off whilst Neuville sits a tenth further back.

The championship leader, Elfyn Evans, could only best sixth fastest overall, in between Toyota’s Oliver Solberg and Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who finished fifth and seventh overall.

So, who finished where in the first test in Greece?

2026 Acropolis Rally Greece: The full WRC stage guide and times

Day 1 overall:

1. Sebastien Ogier, Toyota – 1m 38.2s
2. Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota +1s
3. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +1.1s
4. Sami Pajari, Toyota +1.2s
5. Oliver Solberg, Toyota +1.2s
6. Eflyn Evans, Toyota +1.4s
7. Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai +1.9s
8. Daniel Sordo, Hyundai +2.5s
9. Jon Armstrong, M-Sport Ford +2.8s
10. Yohan Rossell, WRC2 +2.9s

M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks, Joshua McErlean and Jourdan Serderidis found themselves 13th, 14th and 32nd, 3.5, 3.7 and 8.1 seconds behind Ogier’s leading time, respectively.

Read more WRC here:

• Thierry Neuville tops shakedown ahead of Rally Greece
• Thierry Neuville tops first pass of shakedown at Rally Greece
• Solberg looking to put asphalt troubles ‘behind me’ ahead of Rally Greece
• Acropolis Rally Greece: the latest WRC weather forecast
• Ogier looking forward to Rally Greece challenge with new base
• Elfyn Evans believes the rally championship remains ‘very open’
• FIA conclude Candidate Rally US event for 2027 calendar bid
• Toyota expecting a ‘demanding’ end to 2026 WRC season
• 2026 Acropolis Rally Greece: The full WRC stage guide and times

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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.