WRC Rally Acropolis Greece 2021

[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.

[scn]

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.

As far as I know, Loubet hit something at the edge of the road. Spectators that saw the car in Elatia said that it was a driver's error.**
Regarding Neuville, Fourmaux and Evans, Neuville had a steering oil leak from one connection, Evans a gear selector problem and Fourmaux a faulty spark plug. None of these issues can be clearly attributed to battering from rough roads. In Finland you have more frequent issues from the jumps.

**Loubet reached the finish of Elatia stage with a Belgian spectator hanging from his open door and acting as a balancing weight. Actually he should be disqualified.

[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...

[mknight]

I would say the weather actually helped the roads a lot in staying smooth.

If it were raining all the time they would get muddy with deep mud or deep ruts (see SD after some runs).
If it were dry all the time and the week before they would quickly get broken up by the cars, especially for the second passes.

This way you had just enough moisture (acting as "glue") that neither of these happened.
But sure even if it was dry it wouldn't be recent Turkey-level rough.

As mentioned what I really loved is that some stages were rough (Friday first part) and some were not, that could certainly be kept for the future.

[denkimi]

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...

Very weird indeed. Seems like the fia might need to calibrate their scales.

[scn]

Dirtfish says:
"if the 2022 Acropolis is more of a Portugal than a Safari, it might be worth considering reintroducing Turkey to the calendar. We still haven’t forgotten those bruising runs through Çetibeli last year."

I hope the organizers listen to this and stop sending road rollers in the stages. Although I doubt they can bring them back to their actual form, after what they did this year. Acropolis does not have a future being just another Portugal. The Acropolis of 2016-2018 for ERC, held on almost the same roads, were multiple times tougher than this year's. And, if there were no financial problems from the organizers' side, the ERC promoter begged for keeping the rally in its traditional form.

Very weird indeed. Seems like the fia might need to calibrate their scales.

It was not a FIA scale. It is one of the scales used by Greek stewards. I don't know who provides the scales in WRC scrutineering.

[bomber21]

Maybe next year consider only Loutraki stages for a change? Klenia, Aghios Ioannis, Kineta, Aghii Theodoroi, Pissia, Gymno etc? And go back to Lamia for 2023?

Dear organizers, please also consider am Anavyssos SSS. That would be amazing!

[spyros]

I dont understand why all this? the rally was well organized and the stages was awesome. These are not similar to any other rally.