Struggling for traction on the sandy stages, the Belgians lost the lead of the event on the opening test, but a joint stage win with Sébastien Ogier on the second saw the crews heading into service separated by just 1.3 seconds.
Having largely avoided trouble for much of the weekend, Neuville’s luck ran out on the penultimate stage. The Belgian picked up wheel damage which caused a slow rear puncture early in the stage but managed to stabilise the car and maintain a pace close to eventual stage winner Ogier. Unfortunately, a second rear puncture which delaminated with 8kms remaining ended his victory charge. The Belgian ended the event with third fastest time on Power Stage and also secured two bonus points from the Super Sunday standings to score 22 championship points from the event.
Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria set the pace on Sunday’s opening stage – their fifth stage win of the weekend – as they began their mission to chase down third. A puncture on SS15, however, cost them two minutes and saw their podium hopes deflate, and dropped the crew to fifth overall. Despite a top-three time on the penultimate stage, they traded positions with Sami Pajari and headed into the Power Stage one tenth behind. Yet another puncture denied them a final consolation, and the pair had to settle for sixth place. It was a frustrating end to a weekend in which they were the second-highest stage winners and consistently fought back from multiple setbacks.
Spanish Hyundai Motorsport crew Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera started Sunday with a comfortable gap to the cars ahead and behind, but struggled to find balance with a loose rear-end preventing them from pushing. The team elected to retire the crew ahead of the Power Stage as a strategic measure to optimise the team's preparation and provide the greatest possible flexibility ahead of the upcoming fast gravel rallies.
The final results do not reflect the improved pace of the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, whose crews led for 12 of 17 stages and secured nine stage wins across the weekend. The team now turns its attention to Rally Estonia in three weeks’ time.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Second podium finish of 2026 after Rally de Portugal victory
Belgians led from SS4 on Friday until Sunday morning’s SS14
Neuville said: “All in all, I have mixed feelings at the end of this rally. I’m obviously very disappointed not to be able to fight for the victory until the very end, but on the other hand I am very happy about our pace and the improvements we demonstrated this weekend. There are a lot of positives to take from Acropolis Rally, and we’ve also scored a solid haul of points. This gives us a good opportunity to get back into the championship fight, which was looking quite difficult for us. The fact that the championship leaders did not score many points is also good for us. With more gravel rallies to come, I hope we can carry this momentum forward.”
Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
French crew on the pace all weekend, fighting for the lead on Friday
Four punctures limited crew’s potential at Acropolis Rally
Fourmaux said: “I think we deserved much more from Acropolis Rally. While I know it is a lottery, it felt like whenever I pushed I avoided punctures, but whenever I tried to be careful, I would get one. It’s almost unbelievable. In the end, it’s a huge shame, but overall it has been a positive rally. We had the pace and were fighting for the win at the beginning before our issues. It’s frustrating for the championship, as I had high hopes of closing the gap in the points, and it hasn’t gone to plan. However, there is plenty for us to take into Estonia and beyond.”
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Spaniards were running fourth on Friday before suffering puncture on SS3
Team elected to retire the car from eighth place ahead of the Power Stage
Sordo said: “It has been a difficult rally for us. It started well, but the puncture on Friday took us out of the fight. We lost even more time with our second puncture on Saturday, and after that we were not confident with the tyres or the grip. In the end, we decided to retire the car before the Power Stage to give the team as much flexibility as possible for the two fast gravel events.”
Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said: “We came to Greece believing more was possible, but it just wasn't to be this weekend. It has proven to be as tough, if not tougher, than we expected. However, Acropolis Rally has been hugely encouraging for the team; our performance and reliability have been strong, and we'll be back fighting in Estonia. Sitting here today disappointed with second is, in itself, a positive thing – we’ve made a lot of progress since Japan. Now our target is to carry that forward to the next events.”
Next rally
Fast gravel returns in the form of Rally Estonia, set to take place July 16-19
Final Overall Classification – Acropolis Rally
1 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:36:40.7
2 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +58.3
3 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +3:04.8
4 J. McErlean E. Treacy Ford Puma Rally1 +4:55.5
5 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +5:02.2
6 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +5:08.7
7 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +5:54.9
8 M. Sesks R. Francis Ford Puma Rally1 +8:05.8
9 R. Virves J. Viilo Skoda Fabia RS +9:50.1
10 A. Mikkelsen J. Listerud Skoda Fabia RS +10:52.5 ...
Super Sunday Classification – Acropolis Rally
1 S. Ogier 56:17.9
2 S. Pajari +28.0
3 T. Katsuta +51.9
4 T. Neuville +1:02.4
5 O. Solberg +1:09.9
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 8
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 416
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 276
3 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2 126
4 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 107
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 8
1 E. Evans 158
2 T. Katsuta 151
3 S. Ogier 125
4 S. Pajari 114
5 O. Solberg 103
6 A. Fourmaux 97
7 T. Neuville 95
8 E. Lappi 21
9 H. Paddon 21
10 Y. Rossel 20 ...
All results remain subject to official FIA confirmation.
