With one day remaining in this year’s Acropolis Rally of Greece, Henning Solberg/Cato Menkerud sit pretty for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team occupying a podium position in third.Team-mates Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin have also had an incredible day moving from their overnight position of 12th to sixth overall.
After retiring from yesterday’s leg Gigi Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini kicked off with a bang this morning achieving two fastest stage times out of a possible three. Unfortunately a hydraulic concern this afternoon forced him to retire and Galli will continue tomorrow under SupeRally regulations still with a chance to score manufacturer points for his Stobart team.
Solberg drove a superb and intelligent day preserving his Pirelli Scorpion tyres well as he posted top-five stage times throughout the day. The only problem was an engine issue when it cut out on both stage 9 and 10 and then again a few times post-service. Fortunately this did not greatly affect the performance or times set by the Norwegian but the issue will be checked by his technicians in service tonight before his final dash for the podium tomorrow.
Wilson’s advance of six places on his overnight position sees him just 11.2 seconds behind fifth placed Urmo Aava. The 21-year-old set a multitude of top-10 stage times including a fifth fastest on stage 12. Unfortunately the last stage of this morning’s loop was not the best for the Brit who spun on a fast section of the 10.8 kilometre test then picked up a puncture four kilometres from the end.
The only thing stopping Galli from completing the morning hat-trick of stage wins was when he got caught in the dust of fellow WRC competitor Conrad Rautenbach for almost 20 kilometres in stage 8 and lost around 45 seconds.
However while transiting to the start of stage 11 after midday service the Italian felt a vibration on the motorway and lost hydraulic pressure before arriving to the start of the test. As a result he lost the use of both his gear shift and differentials; important components to ensure the safe and efficient passage through the stages. Retirement was the only sensible option and means the car can be fully prepared for battle tomorrow.
Today’s six special stages covered the most competitive kilometres of the three days and included the monster Aghii Theodori stage which, at 32.16 kilometres, was the longest of the event. It pushed Pirelli’s Scorpion tyre to the limit and the rubber lasted well in the rough conditions. Leg 2 took crews east of Rally HQ which this year has been based at the Tatoi military airbase.
Thirty-plus degree temperatures stayed true from start to finish today making it tough going on crews especially over the longer stage. A loose, sandy gravel meant road sweeping which disadvantaged front-runners but over the second pass this afternoon roads quickly turned rough and stray rocks and ruts started to become a factor on this real rally of attrition.
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