Only two days left before EKO Acropolis Rally kicks off with a spectacular superspecial stage at Athens Olympic Stadium and the competitors continue working on their pace notes for the Greek twisty mountain roads. Having started from Friday’s southern stages yesterday, they recce the routes near Lamia today, like Pyrgos, the longest one of the event, the famous, Tarzan and the newly added Perivoli, etc.

Drivers’ quotes:

#69 Kalle ROVANPERÄ / Jonne HALTTUNEN

“So far the stages are quite good. The road condition is fine, except for some parts which are rougher than last year. The surface is not so loose, but in some sections, there are a lot of stones. On Friday it will be bad for us with due to the starting order.”

#8 Ott TÄNAK / Martin JÄRVEOJA

“The stages are in a good condition. It’s quite ok. Still muddy in some places, but nothing dramatic. They look nice.”

#11 Thierry NEUVILLE / Martijn WYDAEGHE

“Is a good mix of smooth and rough parts, with fast or narrow and twisty sections. It’s a little bit of everything! I think it will be dry. I hope on the first day we’ll have a good road position. Then we’ll see what will happen. The road position is more important for the Friday stages.”

#33 Elfyn EVANS Scott MARTIN

“The conditions are quite mixed, obviously because of the weather. But I think it will be quite different during the weekend. In some places is rougher than last year. But not everywhere, it’s quite similar with 2021.”

#18 Takamoto KATSUTA / Aaron JOHNSTON

“It’s rougher than last year. There are more rocks on the ground. I didn’t participate last year so it’s new for me.”

#4 Esapekka LAPPI / Janne FERM

“It’s not so rough as I expected. The stages are in better condition than 8 years ago. The surface is damp, not dry. I hope it will be dry during the Rally because mud is not so funny! It should be no more rain, but in places with no sun under the trees, you don’t know if it will get dry or not. You need a little bit of luck not to brake something or have a puncture.”

#19 Sébastien LOEB / Isabelle GALMICHE

“It’s not that easy. For me there are a lot of new stages. It’s a hard work to make the notes and create something precise. But still, the stages are very nice and interesting. Not so rough as in the past. But we have to remember that cars have improved a lot since then. The suspension is so much better now.”

#6 Dani SORDO / Candido CARRERA

“At the moment it is good. All the stages have different types of surfaces. Some are really rocky and others are a little bit dumped with slippery parts. It’s quite demanding. I don’t think it is rougher than last year.”

#7 Pierre-Louis LOUBET / Vincent LANDAIS

“You need to have very good pace notes. I hope it won’t rain, because that will make it very tricky. It looks better for me than last year, but we will see in the Rally.”

#20 Andreas MIKKELSEN / Torstein ERIKSEN

“We met some nice conditions. It’s a bit a little damper and wet than I expected. But I guess it will get dry until the weekend. Everything is nice, with some new and some old stages. It’s a good mix. The WRC2 entry list is a big one, so we’ll have to fight this weekend. But it’s a tough Rally and you need to survive also. We had a good result here last year and we will try to repeat it.”

#21 Yohan ROSSEL / Valentin SARREAUD

“I like the stages. I think it will be very difficult for the car and us. The first day is very dry and during the second one, the grip is not so high. If we have a good result here, it will count for the Championship.”

#22 Teemu SUNINEN / Mikko MARKKULA

“The stages are really interesting. It’s a big challenge for the driver. They are very technical and quite rough. You have to find the balance between speed avoiding at the same time punctures and problems with the car as well.”

#26 Christopher INGRAM / Craig DREW

“Amazing. I am really excited. It’s one of the most difficult rallies of the season and I am excited to be here. Partially there is mud, but I think it will get dry.”

#28 Georg LINNAMÄE / James MORGAN

“The stages are quite interesting. There are some rough places, but not as much as I expected.”

#47 Georgios KECHAGIAS / Dimitrios SAINIS

“The special stages are very nice. Except for some small parts with mud, everything seems ok. Also, the stages in the Corinthian region are ok. I think that the roads are in a better condition than last year.”

#49 Lambros ATHANASOULAS / Nikolaos ZAKCHAIOS

“I think the Rally is a little bit rougher than in 2021, but the rain has helped. The stages here in Lamia and also in Loutaki are in a good shape. Only Harvati is rough, but as it will be run just once, it won’t be a problem.”

#50 Alexandros TSOULOFTAS / Ross WHITTOCK

“The Rally is more difficult than last year. There is mud partially and I hope it will get dry. It’s very demanding for the tyres. You have to manage very well how to use them during the Rally.”

#52 Emmanouil STEFANIS / Konstantinos STEFANIS

“I think the weather conditions are going to be very crucial. If it doesn’t rain again in the next days it will be fine. Only in parts with no sun, there is some mud. The Rally is very nice, and difficult as well; as is expected.”

#54 Efthymios CHALKIAS / Andreas VIGKOS

“Due to the rain, the stages are smoother than expected. Only partially, in sections between trees, the road is muddy, but not that much. The stages are in very good condition.”

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