The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team aims to return to the top step of the podium on the legendary Acropolis Rally in Greece, round 10 of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship.
The Acropolis returned to the WRC calendar in 2021, having been an almost permanent fixture up until 2013 with a reputation for rocky mountain roads and high temperatures which combine to create a tough challenge for the cars, tyres and drivers.
Kalle Rovanperä, who won the event at the first attempt last year, has a lead of 72 points with four rounds remaining and the possibility to write his name in history in Greece if he can finish the rally on the podium, depending on others’ results.
After finishing second last time out in Belgium, Elfyn Evans is third in the standings and one of those also still in contention for the drivers’ title. Following two podiums in the last two rounds, Esapekka Lappi will contest the Acropolis for the first time since 2014, while Takamoto Katsuta will make his event debut with TGR WRT Next Generation.
This year’s rally begins (TOYOTA GAZOO ) with a superspecial stage in the Athens Olympic Stadium, which previously hosted the WRC in 2005/06. From there crews head directly west to Loutraki, ready for two passes of the stage of the same name on Friday morning, sandwiching a single pass of the adjacent Harvati. The afternoon journey north to the service park in Lamia includes three more stages: a tyre-fitting zone separates the new Dafni and Livadia tests, which are followed by Bauxites. Saturday consists of two loops of three stages west of Lamia and almost half of the rally’s competitive distance. Pyrgos is the longest stage of the weekend at 33.2 kilometres and precedes the returning Perivoli and famous Tarzan test. Elatia-Rengini separates two passes of Eleftherohori, the second forming the rally-ending Power Stage.
“After being very close to the victory in the last two rallies, we go to Greece really wanting to win, but we know that it won’t be easy on such a tough event. The Acropolis is a legendary rally and it’s great to have it back on the calendar since last year. We saw that the gravel roads there are generally not quite as rough as they were in the past. This means that, although reliability is still really important, we also need to have a strong level of performance. Kalle took a great victory last year in difficult conditions and rain which is of course not typical in Greece. Repeating that will be difficult now he is running first on the road, especially as most of Friday’s stages are run only once, but Kalle has been handling this challenge very well so far this season. Elfyn and Esapekka have also been very strong recently and hopefully they can continue in a similar way in Greece.” – Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
Source: Toyota
