ERC: Acropolis Rally / Rally review
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Kevin Abbring got of to a very good start, but his fortunes were short lasting.
A smooth start
The Acropolis rally is one of the best known
events in the world after featuring on the WRC
calendar for decades. During the WRC days the
rally built a reputation of being a real car wrecker.
The rough gravel roads with its large stones combined with temperatures often rising well over the
30C mark make for a perfect recipe for disaster
for cars partaking in the event. This year though,
things are a bit different. The event is still located
around Loutraki but it is part of the ERC rather
than the WRC. This provided the event organizers the opportunity to be a bit more flexible with
the route layout.
The opening leg consisted of six all-asphalt stages, very different from the rugged gravel roads
we are used to seeing here. The asphalt pro-
Fastest on the first stage, but after a puncture Bouffier was forced to play catch up.
vided a slightly less demanding start for the new
Peugeot than the gravel would have, although
debuts will never be easy for cars. The homologation of the car had been delayed due to issues
with the cooling system making it all the more
interesting to see how the car would perform in
competitive action.
Settling in?
Anyone thinking Peugeot would quietly settle
in to the event to nurse the car on its first competitive mileage was very wrong. Bryan Bouffier
managed to win the opening stage in his Citroën
DS3 RRC but after that he was hampered by a
puncture and there was no stopping the Peugeots. Kevin Abbring won the second stage to give
the car its maiden stage win and moved into the
lead. Not to be outdone by his Dutch teammate
Craig Breen fired back on the next stage to gain
his first stage win of the rally. At the first service
halt the Peugeots held an impressive one-two
with Abbring leading and Breen in second. Happy
faces around the Peugeot Rally Academy camp
then, spearheaded by a broadly smiling Kevin
Abbring “The car has been perfect, a big surprise
because it is so new. Me and the entire team can
be very happy and I’m really pleased to be back
competing at this level and being competitive
too.” Coming out of service Abbring continued
right where he left of with another fastest time on
the fourth stage, opening up a five second lead
over his teammate Breen.