WRC Rally Acropolis Greece 2021

[bomber21]

When you are watching from TV, you want crashes, offs, punctures, drama.

When you are watching from the stages, you want none of the above, you just want to see action from as many as possible cars.

[NOT]

the rally was ok... it was not very spectator friendly this year, with limited options and you could not watch many stages.

the super special was a travesty... and the service park was conjested for no reason... they could leave the spectators some free roaming instead of having them on a narrow trail... the distance between the spectators and the service tents was way too big... you could fit 2 lorries between them.

as a rally it was ok with 3 full days of fighting for the win, but i think it was too easy.

also some access roads could use some road rollers as well.

next year it should be better.

[AnttiL]

https://www.fia.com/news/wrc-acropol...-my-own-pace-0

[EstWRC]

https://www.fia.com/news/wrc-acropol...-my-own-pace-0

interesting why Ott wasnt present.

Q:
Tell us about starting the car before the Power Stage…
MJ:
He tried to! It looked like it was game over but then it started and that was the last time. We switched it off and then it would not start anymore, so really it was the last time. There was three seconds to the start and he was still touch some buttons, this was not so good for the rhythm and maybe that cost some time.

[scn]

I watched all the cars on 7 stages, on fast, selected spots. I could watch 9 stages, but not all cars and not on fast spots.
Spectacle with 4th, 5th and 6th gear was extraordinary. Top of the top.
I did not expect to say it so early in his career, but Kalle was fastest on eye and ear. On fast sections the least lift-off. And on one 6th gear section the only one with absolutely no lift-off. To the ear he is the same as Loeb. To the eye he is sometimes exactly like Loeb, sometimes like a typical Finn. Surely a future champion.
The rally was very good, all stages are very very technical, fantastic to drive and, except Elatia, pass through beautiful places. Probably they are some of the best in the world. But it was not Acropolis the way we knew it. Tarzan, the ex-"toughest stage in Europe and probably in whole world", is now smoother than Finland. The same applies to Pavliani and Eleftherohori. Having driven Eleftherohori during ERC years, I dare say that it was multiple times tougher in ERC than the Eleftherohori I passed with my everyday car this year after two passes of the WRC rally. This is the reason there were no flat tyres, no dramas, no retirements. Someone called it boring. Maybe it was for you that watched it on laptop. Surely it was not boring for the spectator, but I don't remember it being boring for the spectator in its previous form either. Time will tell if the "road-roller" choice is good for the survival of the rally. I keep my doubts. As a driver, I would prefer this "road-roller" form, by far.

P.S. SSS is exactly as NOT said: a travesty.

[AnttiL]

Rossel disqualified!

https://twitter.com/anttil_wrc/statu...086205952?s=21

[mknight]

Rossel disqualified!

https://twitter.com/anttil_wrc/statu...086205952?s=21

Same part that was out of spec in Sardinia already (different serial number).

In addition he was also for fined for having brake cooling fans different than homologated.

[scn]

Rossel disqualified!

https://twitter.com/anttil_wrc/statu...086205952?s=21

They say that in Sardinia they weighed this part with this Serial No and found it OK. And in Greece they found it 240 grams heavier. I can't help but remembering when they weighed my car in one scrutineering and found it 20 kilos more than it actually was. I hope they are not the same stewards and not the same level of machinery...

[spyros]

I watched all the cars on 7 stages, on fast, selected spots. I could watch 9 stages, but not all cars and not on fast spots.
Spectacle with 4th, 5th and 6th gear was extraordinary. Top of the top.
I did not expect to say it so early in his career, but Kalle was fastest on eye and ear. On fast sections the least lift-off. And on one 6th gear section the only one with absolutely no lift-off. To the ear he is the same as Loeb. To the eye he is sometimes exactly like Loeb, sometimes like a typical Finn. Surely a future champion.
The rally was very good, all stages are very very technical, fantastic to drive and, except Elatia, pass through beautiful places. Probably they are some of the best in the world. But it was not Acropolis the way we knew it. Tarzan, the ex-"toughest stage in Europe and probably in whole world", is now smoother than Finland. The same applies to Pavliani and Eleftherohori. Having driven Eleftherohori during ERC years, I dare say that it was multiple times tougher in ERC than the Eleftherohori I passed with my everyday car this year after two passes of the WRC rally. This is the reason there were no flat tyres, no dramas, no retirements. Someone called it boring. Maybe it was for you that watched it on laptop. Surely it was not boring for the spectator, but I don't remember it being boring for the spectator in its previous form either. Time will tell if the "road-roller" choice is good for the survival of the rally. I keep my doubts. As a driver, I would prefer this "road-roller" form, by far.

P.S. SSS is exactly as NOT said: a travesty.

I agree 100% excelent post.

[AnttiL]

The rally was very good, all stages are very very technical, fantastic to drive and, except Elatia, pass through beautiful places. Probably they are some of the best in the world. But it was not Acropolis the way we knew it. Tarzan, the ex-"toughest stage in Europe and probably in whole world", is now smoother than Finland. The same applies to Pavliani and Eleftherohori. Having driven Eleftherohori during ERC years, I dare say that it was multiple times tougher in ERC than the Eleftherohori I passed with my everyday car this year after two passes of the WRC rally. This is the reason there were no flat tyres, no dramas, no retirements. Someone called it boring. Maybe it was for you that watched it on laptop. Surely it was not boring for the spectator, but I don't remember it being boring for the spectator in its previous form either. Time will tell if the "road-roller" choice is good for the survival of the rally. I keep my doubts. As a driver, I would prefer this "road-roller" form, by far.

P.S. SSS is exactly as NOT said: a travesty.

Good questions indeed. I think this became the rally with least retirements in the whole season so far. Only one factory car from each team (Evans, Neuville, Fourmaux) had an issue which cost time but was fixed on the road section, and then Loubet's customer car broke, with likely older parts than on factory cars.

I'm personally undecided, whether the roads should have been rougher or not. There's good sides to both versions.