Neuville, what bad luck! Ogier takes advantage and wins the Acropolis Rally

The curse of Super Sunday

On several occasions, Super Sunday has been the day that, due to punctures or mechanical damage to the cars, denied drivers what seemed like certain victories during this season. The same, or almost the same, happened today in Greece, at the ‘Rally of the Gods’, where Thierry Neuville was in full battle with Sébastien Ogier for the final win. Between the two, the nine-time world champion Frenchman was the one to step onto the top podium spot, however favored by a very unfortunate incident that denied any chance to the Belgian Hyundai driver.

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Super Sunday report

It was already clear at the end of the first stage today that the Super Sunday of the Acropolis Rally had not started in the best way for Neuville, with the Belgian dropping to second position in the overall standings after having almost completely dominated the Greek rally. Ogier, on the decisive day for the victory, indeed posted the second-best time in SS14 behind Fourmaux, but with a performance still sufficient to overtake his rival. In the following stage, however, the Hyundai driver reduced the gap from the nine-time world champion, with the two separated by one second, but after the punctures that had hit Fourmaux twice during this rally, the disaster this time struck Neuville.

Precisely on the occasion of the penultimate stage, and 10 km from the finish line, the Belgian lost almost a minute to the Toyota driver, due to a puncture on both rear wheels: “We were very unlucky – he commented after the stage – I don’t know what happened. First I had a low pressure warning on the left, then the situation stabilized, and then suddenly we had a puncture on the right rear, and finally two punctures on the rear to finish the stage. What can I say? It would have been nice to fight until the end against Sébastien, but it went like this. Honestly, now we are all disappointed, and the team deserved that victory here. We were on form, but… it goes like this.” For the umpteenth time this season, the WRC has reserved a decisive twist for the final victory of a driver apparently destined for 2nd place, with Ogier taking advantage of the incident to win the Greek rally, as well as gaining additional points in the standings thanks to the win in Super Sunday and the Power Stage. Evans’ weekend is to be forgotten, only 7th in the standings, unlike Skoda in WRC2, winner with Robert Virves.

Acropolis Rally 2026, final standings (top-10)

Next appointment

After one of the toughest rallies of the world championship, the WRC leaves Greece heading to Northern Europe, more precisely to Estonia. The event, which will also take place on gravel roads, will be held from July 16 to 19.

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