Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala has won this this year’s Acropolis Rally, his first since joining the Volkswagen team.
A fuelling problem on the opening stage saw Sebastien Ogier drop out of the equation, meaning hopes were then pinned on Latvala, who was running in third place for a while before passing the Citroen of Dani Sordo on Saturday morning. Later in the day Evgeny Novikov’s Ford suffered wheel and suspension damaged following a collision with banking, which saw him fall back to ninth handing Latvala the victory.
His Volkswagen team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen came home a solid fourth, while Ogier, who managed to battle back into the top ten, maintains the championship leader after picking up an extra three points by winning the SS14 Power Stage.
“I’m overjoyed, I dedicate this victory to the entire Volkswagen team. My start in the new season was very difficult, but the team always believed in me and supported me terrific. It makes me glad now to look into so many happy faces. The Acropolis Rally win also therefore means a lot to me because it is extremely hard and a true classic,” said the Polo driver.
Rally of Greece Results
1. J-M Latvala VW 3h31m01.2s
2. D Sordo Citroen + 1m50.0s
3. T Neuville M-Sport Ford + 2m14.1s
4. A Mikkelsen VW + 3m55.1s
5. N Al-Attiyah M-Sport Ford + 4m12.6s
6. M Ostberg M-Sport Ford + 5m48.7s
7. M Hirvonen Citroen + 8m00.7s
8. M Prokop Czech Ford + 8m01.2s
9. E Novikov M-Sport Ford + 8m11.8s
10. S Ogier VW + 10m10.3s
[Source: Volkswagen Motorsport]