Ogier takes second for Toyota Gazoo Racing on Acropolis Rally Greece

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team‘s Sébastien Ogier secured second overall as well as maximum bonus points on the final day of a demanding Acropolis Rally Greece yesterday, the seventh round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship.

Greece’s rough and rocky roads, combined with searing ambient temperatures of more than 40°C, presented an extreme challenge for the GR Yaris Rally1, its drivers and tyres. Loose stones and bedrock creating steps in the road were a constant hazard of Friday’s stages west of the capital city Athens, while the narrow and twisty roads in the mountains of the final two days meant even a small mistake would be heavily punished.

Ogier was on the leading pace despite running second on the loose gravel roads on Friday’s stages, helping to clear a line for rivals starting behind. Beginning Sunday’s final leg 43.6 seconds behind Ott Tänak (Hyundai) made a third victory in as many rallies unlikely for Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais, but they still excelled, winning both the penultimate test and the Power Stage to finish atop the day’s classification and clinch 10 extra points in addition to 17 for finishing second overall.

Elfyn Evans, with co-driver Scott Martin, finished fourth overall to remain in the championship lead. As first car on the road on Friday, he faced an uphill battle to fight near the front but a calm and collected drive throughout the rally secured a good points haul. He took third on Super Sunday and fourth-fastest time on the Power Stage, and now leads Ogier by nine points and Tänak by 12 points.

Having to settle for second place on a rally for the first time in 2025, TGR-WRT continue to lead the manufacturers’ championship at the halfway point of the season with a 65-point advantage.

Kalle Rovanperä, Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari all returned to action to complete the final day. Rovanperä, who had stopped with damage on Saturday’s fourth stage after an overshoot, had to stop and change a tyre on SS15 but went on to finish second in the Power Stage and recover four points together with co-driver Jonne Halttunen.

Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston had also retired on Saturday afternoon after an overshoot and set their sights on a strong push in the Power Stage, but would have to stop and change a tyre, ending any hopes of points.

Sami Pajari demonstrated strong pace in his TGR-WRT2 entry, fighting for a podium position on Friday morning with co-driver Marko Salminen. A technical issue related to the fuel system forced him out of action, but he returned on Sunday and gained valuable experience running first on the road in a WRC event for the first time.

In the WRC2 category, Oliver Solberg comfortably secured a third victory of the season for the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, winning in commanding fashion to claim the points lead and finishing sixth overall in his Printsport-run car. Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Rallylab Technology) and Alejandro Cachón (Teo Martín Motorsport) made it three GR Yaris Rally2 cars inside the class top five and overall top 10.

Team quotes
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal): “I think we can be quite happy with how the rally finished today. Of course we would like to win every rally, but it’s just not possible and it was again a great fight between Seb and Ott. They both did a fantastic drive, but this time Ott was just a bit faster over the weekend and nobody could beat him. Still, Seb was first on the Power Stage and Super Sunday. He’s in good form at the moment and has been fantastic across the very difficult last three rallies. Elfyn has also done a fantastic job opening the road on these rallies and still coming away with solid points. Kalle’s speed is still there, as he showed in the Power Stage, and the same is true for Taka and Sami – they were all just a bit unlucky this weekend.”

Elfyn Evans (driver car 33): “It’s been a tough weekend with very difficult conditions but we’ve managed to avoid trouble and finish fourth again – and we also got some Sunday points to top up the tally and soften the blow compared to our rivals. We knew coming into these last three rough gravel rallies that as we would be opening the road, it would be possible to lose our championship lead. So on that side I’m pleased. Now we move onto a different type of rally where we hope to show some more pace and performance.”

Kalle Rovanperä (driver car 69): “It was a tricky having to restart on Sunday. With our starting place we didn’t have much to play for but we had quite OK pace on the Power Stage and at least we could take four points from there, which was probably the maximum we could do. It hasn’t been the best weekend for me, not being on the pace and level where I should be. I know that there is room to improve and we will work to come back stronger for Estonia.”

Sébastien Ogier (driver car 17): “It has been another really strong weekend for us. There wasn’t much we could do about Ott’s pace, also considering the difference in start position, so well done to him on a well-deserved win. Taking 27 points is the maximum I think we could get out of this weekend, so we can be very happy. We have reached the mid-point of the season and we are still strongly ahead in the manufacturers’ championship. Thanks to the team for pushing very hard all the time and let’s keep going like this in the second half of the season.”

Takamoto Katsuta (driver car 18): “It was a pity that the Power Stage didn’t work out for us. We chose to focus on it and were pushing a lot, but not in a crazy way: looking at the split times we were fastest overall until we had to stop and change the tyre. It was a frustrating weekend but we know that this rally can be very tough and these things can happen. The important thing is to keep my head up and prepare for the next events in Estonia and Finland.”

Sami Pajari (driver car 5): “I had a nice feeling driving again today; thanks to the team for getting us back on the road. It was something strange and unfamiliar for me to be first on the road and sweeping it clean, but it was also good experience. It’s safe to say it’s not been the weekend we were hoping for but the beginning on Friday was quite strong, so it is good to see the pace is getting there and I’m looking forward to the next events.”

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, ACROPOLIS RALLY GREECE
1 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 4h12m20.1s
2 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +32.8s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m09.8s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3m31.1s
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +8m59.5s
6 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +10m34.7s
7 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +11m28.5s
8 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +11m43.7s
9 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +12m56.7s
10 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +14m19.9s
27 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +39m08.9s
30 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +44m09.1s
46 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1h22m21.0s
(Results as of 17:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 7:
1 Elfyn Evans 150 points
2 Sébastien Ogier 141
3 Ott Tänak 138
4 Kalle Rovanperä 117
5 Thierry Neuville 96
6 Takamoto Katsuta 63
7 Adrien Fourmaux 61
8 Sami Pajari 32
9 Oliver Solberg 19
10 Grégoire Munster 18

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 7:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 358 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 293
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 97
4 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 57

What’s next?
Rally Estonia (17-20 July) returns to the WRC calendar after one year away, offering fast gravel stages around Tartu that combine wide and narrow sections with a generally soft and sandy surface.

ENDS