WRC Acropolis Rally Greece: Sebastien Ogier starts with Athens super special win

Sébastien Ogier opened the WRC Acropolis Rally Greece with a win in the opening super special stage in Athens, taking an early lead on Thursday night. The brand-new head-to-head super special was run on asphalt in the Greek capital, setting the tone for the rally’s famously rough gravel tests ahead. Ogier, the reigning world champion, beat 2024 champion Thierry Neuville by 1.1 seconds in their duel. Toyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta was next closest to Ogier, recording a time one second faster than championship leader Elfyn Evans in his heat, while Neuville’s result was enough to place him third overall going into Friday’s six gravel stages. Following Ogier, identical times were posted by Toyota’s Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari, and Evans claimed sixth fastest while preparing for opening-road challenges. The top 10 included Adrien Fourmaux, Dani Sordo, Jon Armstrong, and Yohan Rossel in WRC2.