Ott Tanak extends Acropolis Rally lead after Fourmaux incident

Ott Tanak demonstrated impressive performance across Saturday morning’s three stages to extend his lead in Acropolis Rally Greece — after his Hyundai teammate Adrien Fourmaux lost time hitting a roadside bank.

Tanak, who started with a three-second advantage, increased his lead by winning stage eight with a 6.7-second margin over Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. In stage nine, he again recorded the fastest time, leading Fourmaux by 6.7 seconds.

“There was a rock outside the line that wasn’t in my pacenotes, and there was an impact on the wheel,” explained Fourmaux who dropped to third position.

Championship leader Elfyn Evans remained fourth, 2 minutes 27.2 seconds behind the leader. Meanwhile, Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta moved ahead of M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster for fifth place — after Munster struggled with handbrake issues on his car.

Several drivers faced technical challenges:

• Sami Pajari withdrew due to fuel system problems
• Josh McErlean struggled with damaged rear suspension
• Jourdan Serderidis retired due to suspected heat-related illness