SÉBASTIEN OGIER WINS ACROPOLIS RALLY 2026 AS TOYOTA EXTENDS WRC LEAD

SÉBASTIEN OGIER CLAIMS ACROPOLIS RALLY 2026 VICTORY FOR TOYOTA

Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais claimed victory at Acropolis Rally 2026, delivering another success for Toyota GAZOO Racing World Rally Team after a dramatic final day in one of the toughest events of the FIA World Rally Championship season.

The demanding Greek rally lived up to its reputation, with temperatures exceeding 30°C and rough, rocky stages testing tyres, machinery and crews throughout the weekend.

Toyota faced an additional challenge as its five Rally1 crews opened the road on Friday due to their championship positions, sweeping loose gravel for the competitors behind. Despite the disadvantage, Ogier remained in contention, ending Friday within 10 seconds of the lead before reducing the gap to Hyundai's Thierry Neuville to just 4.1 seconds by Saturday evening.

The decisive move came on Sunday's opening stage when Ogier moved into the lead with the fastest time. He then shared the quickest stage time with Neuville before extending his advantage on the penultimate test, where another stage victory combined with Neuville's tyre damage created a comfortable margin.

Ogier completed the rally by winning the Power Stage, securing victory by 58.3 seconds and collecting the maximum 35 championship points after also topping the Super Sunday classification. The win marked the 69th victory of his FIA World Rally Championship career and his second triumph at Acropolis Rally, 15 years after his first.

Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston completed a double podium for Toyota by finishing third overall. Starting second on the road on Friday, the pair climbed steadily through the field with a consistent and trouble-free performance.

Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen recovered from an early wheel and tyre change to finish fifth overall. Their strong Sunday included second place in both the Power Stage and Super Sunday standings.

Championship leaders Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin faced the difficult task of opening the road throughout Friday. Although a tyre issue affected their points recovery on Sunday, they finished seventh overall and remain at the top of the drivers' championship. Katsuta now sits seven points behind Evans, while Ogier trails by 33 points. Toyota GAZOO Racing also increased its lead in the manufacturers' championship to 140 points.

Oliver Solberg returned after Friday's retirement to score one Super Sunday point by finishing fifth in the classification.

In WRC2, Toyota's Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto demonstrated strong speed with several top-five stage times and claimed his first Power Stage victory despite finishing tenth in class after losing time to punctures. GR Yaris Rally2 drivers Alejandro Cachón, Roope Korhonen and Diego Domínguez completed the event in third, fourth and fifth positions in WRC2 respectively.

KEY POINTS

• Sébastien Ogier won Acropolis Rally 2026 for Toyota GAZOO Racing.

• Ogier claimed his 69th FIA World Rally Championship victory.

• The Frenchman secured maximum 35 championship points.

• Ogier won both the Power Stage and Super Sunday.

• Takamoto Katsuta finished third to complete a Toyota double podium.

• Sami Pajari recovered to finish fifth overall.

• Elfyn Evans remains the FIA World Rally Championship leader.

• Toyota extended its manufacturers' championship lead to 140 points.

• Oliver Solberg returned to score one Super Sunday point.

• Yuki Yamamoto claimed his maiden WRC2 Power Stage victory.

Quotes:

Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)

“It means a lot to win this rally. We have been quite unlucky in Greece over recent years, and this time the luck was on our side with the damage that Neuville picked up in the penultimate stage. It was a really good battle until then but Seb was fantastic once again. He avoided any issues and deserves another win on this event. Taka was also really good and it’s great to see him back on the podium, and Sami drove an excellent final day as well to keep making up places. Elfyn has not been so lucky this time, and it was tough for Oliver too, but I’m sure the next rally will be easier for them.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)

“It’s been a tough weekend, in line with what we were expecting beforehand. After a difficult start on Friday, things were actually moving in the right direction and not looking too bad by Saturday afternoon, but then we got the puncture in the last stage. We tried to give it a good go today but I touched a bank in the first stage which pushed the tyre off the rim. I’m disappointed with how it’s turned out but that’s the way it goes sometimes and we just have to move on to the next one.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 1)

“It feels good to win the Acropolis Rally again after many years. It seems like the Greek gods were with me once more! Like often here, it’s been a very tough rally, particularly for the tyres, so I’m glad that we were able to stay out of trouble this time. It was very close with Thierry and there was no chance to relax, even in the Power Stage because it was very rough. I tried to drive as gently as I could, so I was surprised by the time, but I’m very happy to take the maximum points, which is exactly what we needed.”

Oliver Solberg (Driver car 99)

“I think we did the best that we could today. We at least managed to keep Elfyn behind us in the Super Sunday standings to take one point, but I don’t think it was possible to do more from our starting position. It’s been another blow this weekend and I’m very disappointed; it’s been tough lately with these little mistakes. I just need to keep believing and try to reset and find a better way forward, going into some rallies that I know well and am looking forward to.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)

“It’s very good to finish on the podium after such a tough rally. It was difficult for us in the beginning running second on the road, but we were expecting this and we had a clear plan to try and avoid problems and mistakes and just manage the situation. It worked out very well, so thank you to Aaron and to the team; we had no issues with the car at all. It’s been a good weekend and I’m looking forward to the high-speed rallies coming up.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)

“It was a proper Super Sunday for us today and I think we need to be really happy about that. The beginning of the rally was very difficult for us and it was tricky to recover from that, but I think that we got the most out of it that we could. We managed to make up quite a lot of positions and also take eight extra points from Sunday, so it’s really not been too bad an event in the end and we’re still in a good position in the championship with some nice rallies to come for us.”

Yuki Yamamoto (Driver WRC Challenge Program GEN2)

“It’s good to finish this really rough rally. We had some really strong pace and also some good consistency. Still I have room to learn about how to manage a rally better in this kind of condition and better avoid punctures and problems, but I think that we learned quite a lot in this respect that we can take into the future. It was also really nice to end the rally with a stage win in the Power Stage.”

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, ACROPOLIS RALLY GREECE

1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 3h36m40.7s

2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +58.3s

3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3m04.8s

4 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m55.5s

5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +5m02.2s

6 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m08.7s

7 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +5m54.9s

8 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +8m05.8s

9 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +9m50.1s

10 Andreas Mikkelsen/Jørn Listerud (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +10m52.5s

16 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +15m31.2s

(Results as of 15:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

WRC2 class

1 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 3h46m30.8s

2 Andreas Mikkelsen/Jørn Listerud (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1m02.4s

3 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +2m03.2s

4 Roope Korhonen/Anssi Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +2m53.3s

5 Diego Domínguez/Rogelio Peñate (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +3m43.1s

6 Léo Rossel/Guillaume Mercoiret (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) +4m10.6s

10 Yuki Yamamoto/James Fulton (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +7m57.6s

2026 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 8:

1 Elfyn Evans 158 points

2 Takamoto Katsuta 151

3 Sébastien Ogier 125

4 Sami Pajari 114

5 Oliver Solberg 103

6 Adrien Fourmaux 97

7 Thierry Neuville 95

8 Hayden Paddon 21

9 Esapekka Lappi 21

10 Yohan Rossel 20

2026 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 8:

1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 416 points

2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 276

3 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 126

4 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 107

What's next?

Rally Estonia (July 17-19) features fast gravel stages combining wide and narrow sections with a generally soft and sandy surface that can become rutted for the second pass.