Championship leader Thierry Neuville worked his way to the front of the field on the second full day of competition in the Acropolis Rally on Saturday as the punishing Greek roads continued to take a toll on the field.
Neuville’s Hyundai teammates Ott Tanak, who was leading overnight, and Dani Sordo, who was second, both suffered early setbacks on Saturday in this tenth round of 13 in the WRC World Championship.
Tanak was forced to stop twice within 10 kilometres to change wheels and slipped to fourth over four minutes off the lead.
Sordo briefly held the lead before an altercation with a Greek rock caused a rear tyre blowout.
However, he steadied his car and ended the day in second place 53.7 seconds behind Neuville. Eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier closed the day in third a further 27sec behind.
Neuville is on course to extend his championship lead, which stood at 27 points over Ogier at the start of the rally.
“There’s another day left, so at the moment there is no conclusion,” said the Belgian.
“We need to see where we end up tomorrow, that’s the only thing that counts.
“It’s a lottery out there and we don’t know what will happen. There are a lot of things we still have to manage.”
On Sunday, the drivers will face three special stages across 54 timed kilometres before they finish the toughest of all the rallies on the calendar.
Standings
1. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL/Hyundai) 3:01:05.3, 2. Daniel Sordo/Candido Carrera (ESP/Hyundai) at 53.7, 3. Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (FRA/Toyota) 1:20.9, 4. Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (EST/Hyundai) 3:19.2, 5. Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (FIN/Toyota/WRC2) 5:06.1