EKO Acropolis Rally Greece: Škoda driving crews aim for WRC2 top positions

› At the FIA World Rally Championship’s tenth round, Toksport WRT’s Gus Greensmith and co‑driver Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) chase their second WRC2 victory of the season
› Competing at the wheel of a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, Lauri Joona wants to consolidate his fourth rank in the WRC2 Drivers’ standings and second place in the WRC2 Challenger classification
› After scoring championship points already at six events, WRC2 overall leader Oliver Solberg (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) decided to skip the Greek gravel rally

Mladá Boleslav, 4 August 2024 – After the fast gravel roads of Poland, Latvia and Finland, the going gets tougher at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (5-8 September 2024), tenth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). On 305 stage kilometres on rocky roads in the Lamia area, Škoda crews are among the favourites for WRC2 top positions.

Coming to Greece, 27-year-old Finn Lauri Joona holds fourth position in the WRC2 Drivers’ standings. For the first time, he shares TGS Worldwide’s Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 with co‑driver Ville Mannisenmäki. The family name rings a bell: Ville’s father Risto Mannisenmäki navigated Tommi Mäkinen to the world champion title back in 1998 and 1999. Acropolis Rally Greece is already Lauri Joona’s seventh WRC2 event of the year. According to the regulations, it is the last rally of his first full WRC2 season, where he can score points. He is aiming for a top spot to strengthen his fourth position in the WRC2 Drivers’ standing and second rank in the WRC2 Challenger classification.

Toksport WRT’s Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) celebrated WRC2 victory at Safari Rally Kenya. Since then, luck has deserted the British-Swedish pairing. “I hope that success comes back to us at Acropolis Rally,” Greensmith looks ahead. Among the Škoda crews posed for one of the WRC2 top positions are also Estonians Robert Virves/Aleks Leks (RaceSeven) and Pierre-Louis Loubet/Loris Pascaud from France (Toksport WRT). Motorsport Ireland-backed Joshua McErlean/James Fulton (Toksport WRT), Czech pairing Martin Prokop/Michal Ernst (Prokop Rally Team) and Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak from Poland (Orlen Rally Team) target points in the WRC2 Challenger classification.

One prominent Škoda driver is missing on the entry list: Oliver Solberg. The 22-year-old Swede recently won WRC2 at Rally Finland together with British co‑driver Elliott Edmondson and is leading the WRC2 standings overall. But after scoring championship points already at six events, Solberg decided to skip EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. He will watch from the sidelines, when his two main title rivals, Sami Pajari from Finland (Toyota) and Frenchman Yohan Rossel (Citroën), try to reduce the gap to the championship leader. Solberg is counting on his Škoda stable mates like Gus Greensmith and Lauri Joona to take away points from his pursuers.

The Greek WRC event, dubbed “Acropolis Rally of Gods”, offers 14 stages on extremely rough gravel roads plus a two kilometres short so‑called “super special stage” on tarmac. The rally starts on Thursday (5 September) at 7:00 pm local time with the ceremonial start in Lamia. After 305.30 kilometres against the stop watch, the podium ceremony is scheduled for Sunday (8 September) at 4:00 pm again in Lamia.

Did you know, that…
...Rally Acropolis Greece was a founding member of the world championship in its inaugural season 1973? Not being part of the calendar from 2013 onwards, the event returned to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2021.

...Acropolis Rally Greece with its winding and rough gravel roads combined with high ambient temperatures is often referred to as “European Safari Rally”?

... the service park is again located at the National Fairgrounds in Lamia?

Standings WRC2/Drivers (after nine of 13 rallies)
1 Oliver Solberg (SWE), Škoda, 111 points (from 6 rallies)
2 Sami Pajari (FIN), Toyota, 83 Points (from 5 rallies)
3 Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 71 points (from 4 rallies)
4 Lauri Joona (FIN), Škoda, 58 points (from 6 rallies)

Standings WRC2 Challenger classification (after nine of 13 rallies)
1 Sami Pajari (FIN), Toyota, 93 Points (from 5 rallies)
2 Lauri Joona (FIN), Škoda, 78 points (from 6 rallies)
3 Jan Solans (ESP), Toyota, 56 points (from 4 rallies)

Standings WRC2/Teams (after nine of 13 rallies)
1 Toksport WRT, Škoda, 178 points
2 AEC – DG Sport Competition, Citroën, 169 points
3 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT NG, Toyota, 73 points

2024 FIA World Rally Championship

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