Acropolis Rally Greece 2026

This article is my personal experience and all opinions/words are my own

I love the rough, hot gravel rallies. They are a true testament to the strength of both the cars and the crews. With more than 35 degrees air temp you can almost double that inside the cockpit of a rally car. Then add 4 days, 323 km of special stages and 1179 km of road section and you have one of the hardest challenges in the world of motorsport - in my opinion. On top of this its not like everyone is holding back and avoiding risk. If you want to be on the top of the podium you have to find a good balance of course but without risk? Definitely not. After 3 days and 13 special stages the leading two were seperated by 4,1 seconds.

I arrived in Athens Wednesday midday and was treated to a short boat trip together with Kiri as she was filming her «Bloore´s Tour» from the area where the opening stage was going to be.

After an hour and half drive I arrived in Loutraki - a place I know well as the rally has visited here for the first full day on gravel in previous years. I never came to Loutraki when the rally used to be based here. The town is popular with tourists but it was clear as you entered that for this week they were proud to be hosting the World Rally Championship. Flags from every competing nation and rally fans everywhere. A lot of people chose this rally to travel to as it can be fun to combine with some holiday time as well.

After a lovely dinner with the rest of the gang it was time to prepare for the upcoming days. Btw, my lovely colleagues "borrowed" my phone when I went to the toilet so they deserve this 😂:

Already on Thursday I was relocating so that means packing light and making sure I have what I need. Shakedown in Loutraki was a lot of fun. We are live for about 30 mins on Rally TV and social media and then after that we are covering other interview requests as well as VIP passenger rides. It was my Birthday and to my surprise Maria (good friend and photographer) was suddenly standing at the stage end with flowers and a little cake. Thank you so much Maria!

After shakedown it was time for a quick lunch and then drive to Athens for the opening super special. It is a man made track on tarmac mainly for the fans to get up close to the rally cars and crews. A nice way to kick things off but as the rally drivers often say, «the real rally starts tomorrow».

After interviewing all drivers on SSS1 I had a 2,5 hour road trip to Delphi. I arrived there in the middle of the night, checked in to my hotel and went straight to bed. When I woke up in the morning I was treated to the most amazing view from my balcony. There are so many places I see doing this job that I probably never would have if I was just on holiday.

This view is the Pleistos valley, famous for its olive groves stretching towards the Gulf of Corinth. The hotel is located in the town of Delphi which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Greece´s most famous archaeological sites. Ancient Greeks believed Delphi was the center of the world.

Friday was a real marathon day covering every other stage, with my colleague PK doing the stages I wasn’t on. The drivers talked a lot about tyre management, road cleaning, car feeling and how rough it was out there. Still there were very little incidents, the biggest one being Oliver Solberg who went off the road on SS7 Thiva. 4 of the stages run on Friday were only run once which is unusual. A tough job for those early on the road. The top 3 Friday evening were Neuville, Ogier and Fourmaux. Oh, and I must also mention Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne who picked up their first stage win in WRC.

I arrived back in Loutraki Friday evening, grabbed a quick dinner at the mini grill with some colleagues and fell asleep during the first half of the Norway vs France game.

I was on the first stage Saturday morning which meant a 5:30 alarm clock. Road positions are reversed meaning the cars furthest down the standings and the ones restarting are first on the road. Again cleaning and tyre management were big topics.

After my first stage I then drove high up in the mountains to spend the rest of the day at the Menalo Mt. Stage. This is a new stage and it is at more then 1500m of elevation. Compared to the scorching 37 degrees down by the sea it was only 21 degrees here. Lots of pine trees, everything very green and not something that I think of as typically Greece in the end of June. Some facts: Highest peak is Ostrakina, 1,981m. Considered one of the sacred mountains of Pan, the Ancient Greek god of Shepards, forests and wild places. Home to one of Greece´s oldest ski resorts sitting between 1,550 and 1,770m above sea level. Record lowest temperature is -35,3 degrees celcius. This is also the lowest temperature ever measured in Greece. (Source: Wikipedia)

Seb took 6,7 seconds out of Thierry on the final stage of Saturday. Thierry had an impact in the stage and was leaking coolant at the stop line. The gap between the two in Thierry´s favor going in to Sunday - 4,1 seconds.After a long drive I got back late Saturday night and had to pack everything as I was heading straight to the airport after the rally on Sunday.

Sundays Powerstage was only about 8 mins from the hotel. In previous years is has been the first one on Friday morning after the overnight stay in Loutraki. It is very narrow there so I knew this would be challenging with the TV live production and all the other journalists that would be there. Between the runs Antonio (WRC SoMe admin) headed down to Loutraki for some lunch and a quick dip in the sea 😎

The Powerstage was another thriller with the stage being very rough after the first pass. It was a pleasure to welcome Seb Ogier and Vincent Landais to the stage end as winners of the Acropolis rally 2026 after a very tense fight with Thierry Neuville as Martijn Wydaeghe.