Remember those WRC Sundays when folk questioned why they’d got out of bed so early for a handful of processional miles? Set your alarm five minutes earlier tomorrow – you’ll need an espresso to make sure you’re wide awake and on it from kilometer one.
As Super Sundays go, tomorrow could be the super-est of the season. Yes, there might be 43 seconds between leader Ott Tänak and his nearest challenger Sébastien Ogier – but the Frenchman reckons this one is still very much game on.
“Tomorrow,” the eight-time champion told DirtFish, “is still one of the longest Sundays we’ve done for a while. I don’t expect it to be less rough than what we’ve seen so far, especially Tarzan’s second pass.
“It’s always very difficult. It’s going to be a tough day.”
And the gap? What’s possible?
Is Ogier still in the fight for the win? On pace maybe not, but this is the Acropolis...
“I think we were mentioning before the start of the weekend, even if you’re one minute [behind] on Saturday night, I don’t think you can be relaxed here. Maybe two [minutes] will start to be OK, it’s one puncture, advantage, why not?
“But with so many points for Sunday, you know, these guys, they have to push anyway, which means it’s not over.”
Ogier knows all about fighting with his former team-mate and current friend Tänak. The Estonian’s approach is predictable. And fast.
“We have been having so many fights together and they are always very enjoyable,” smiled Ogier. “They are always intense because Ott has only one mode and managing is not really his thing.
“He’s just pushing, pushing, pushing, always. It’s not always the strategy to win Rally Acropolis, though. But so far, it’s working for him and I don’t wish him any bad luck, to be honest – he’s my friend and, again, he has been doing very good today.”
Tänak is seeking a first win of the season - for him and for Hyundai
Tänak admitted a first win of the season remained the focus for him.
“For sure,” he said, “we are not going crazy. I mean, it’s still Greece. We still need to manage through. But yeah, we’ve had a good rhythm today, and we’d like to carry a good rhythm tomorrow. So we are not going to risk everything, but still drive our rhythm.”
Sunday’s final day will deliver four stages and 62 miles of competition across some of the roughest roads of the season.
