 Acropolis Rally 2002 preview. Story by Andrew Frampton.
The Acropolis rally on the rutted gravel roads of Greece hosts the seventh round of the World Rally Championship, where the Ford and Subaru teams will be hoping to continue their increased pace, as they bid to close the gap on Peugeot at the head of the field.
So far this season, the Peugeot team has dominated the championship, claiming victory on four of the six events, and a redeveloped 206WRC has been launched in an attempt to take victory on an event it has never won. Peugeot had looked set to claim their fifth successive win in Argentina, only for Marcus Gronholm and Richard Burns be excluded from the results, handing victory to Ford's Carlos Sainz. Gronholm currently leads the championship by eleven points, although he was left ruing a mistake by his team, when his mechanics came within 1km of his car, leading to his exclusion of what was an easy victory. There was double disappointment for the Peugeot team when Burns was excluded the following day, after a flywheel was found to be underweight. The Argentinean disappointment came on the back of four one-two results, with Gronholm and asphalt specialist Gilles Panizzi taking two wins apiece. Despite not scoring in Argentina, Panizzi still holds second in the championship, while Burns is one point further back in joint third. Harri Rovanpera, Peugeot's gravel expert, drives the third works car instead of Panizzi in Greece.
Carlos Sainz's rather fortuitous victory in Argentina was Ford's first win this season, and it moved the team ahead of Subaru in the manufacturer's championship. The result also sees Sainz move into joint third in the driver's championship. Colin McRae has arguably been the most consistent driver this season, having scored points in each of the six rounds. However, he has failed to finish higher than third and that has restricted him to seventh in the championship. In Argentina, McRae took the final podium position, ahead of his ever improving Estonian team-mate Markko Martin; whose fourth place finish was his best result this season. Ford have claimed victory here for the past three seasons, and are running a fourth car in Greece - Armin Kremer making his 2002 WRC debut on a loose surface event.
Despite dropping to third in the manufacturer's championship, Subaru come to Greece with the aim of improving on their showing in Argentina. Tommi Makinen had been enjoying a superb battle with Gronholm on the final day, only to spectacularly roll out of the event on the penultimate stage. The Finn has had a mixed season following his winter move from the Mitsubishi team, finishing just two of the events so far. He was awarded victory in Monte Carlo, after Sebastien Loeb was penalised for an illegal tyre change, while he took third in Cyprus. However, he has lacked consistency, suffering a series of crashes and mechanical failures. Petter Solberg's performances have continued to improve this season, and after the exclusion of the two Peugeots in Argentina, he was promoted to second position, just four seconds behind Sainz. That was the young Norwegian's best result of the season, and although he lacks experience, he did take an excellent second place here last year. Toshi Arai makes his first appearance of the season for the team in the third car.
Mitsubishi will be hoping that the Greek event will see a change in form, after struggling with the Evo VII model Lancer for much of the season. Although they have a strong driver line-up in Francois Delecour and Alister McRae, the car has not been competitive, and has left the team outside the top six on most occasions. They hold a tenuous lead on fourth position in the manufacturer's championship with just six points, under pressure from Hyundai and Skoda. Alister McRae took the team's best result of the season with fifth in Sweden, while Delecour has taken three top ten finishes. The punishing Greek roads may lead to a high retirement rate, which could elevate the team to top six finishes.
Despite losing their fifth place in the manufacturer's championship to Skoda following the Rally of Argentina, Hyundai did emerge with their second successive point's finish. Juha Kankkunen was one of the stars of the South American event, and the Finn, who is driving the third Accent on all of the gravel rounds this season, would surely have scored more than his single point had he not lost several minutes on the opening day. Kankkunen will be hoping to increase his points haul in Greece, where he competes alongside the team's regular drivers Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz, both of whom have made the points this season.
The Rally Argentina was a memorable event for the Skoda team, opening their account with a five-point haul in the manufacturer's championship. Toni Gardemeister and Kenneth Eriksson took fifth and sixth for the team, once the two Peugeot drivers had been disqualified, moving them into fifth in the standings. Prior to Argentina, the big Skodas had struggled, although Eriksson had come close to a fourth place finish in Sweden, only to be forced out on the final stage. However, the Skodas were suited to the rough roads of South America, as the less robust cars fell by the wayside. Gabriel Pozzo took ninth position on his debut for the team in Argentina, while Stig Blomqvist joins Gardemeister and Eriksson for the Acropolis event.
Driver's Standings:
1. Marcus Gronholm 31pts
2. Gilles Panizzi 20pts
3. Carlos Sainz 19pts
4. Richard Burns 19pts
5. Tommi Makinen 14pts
6. Petter Solberg 13pts
Manufacturer's Standings:
1. Peugeot 68pts
2. Ford 41pts
3. Subaru 33pts
4. Mitsubishi 6pts
5. Skoda 5pts
6. Hyundai 3pts
2002 WRC season calendar
17/01 - 20/01 - 70E Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo
- Monte Carlo stage map by JR
- Monte Carlo preview by AF
- Monte Carlo review by AF
- Monte Carlo stage-by-stage times by JR
31/01 - 03/02 - Uddeholm Swedish Rally
- Sweden stage map by JR
- Sweden preview by AF
- Sweden review by AF
- Sweden stage-by-stage times by JR
- Audio downloads from Sweden by Ralliart
07/03 - 10/03 - Tour De Corse - Rallye De France
- Corsica stage map by JR
- Corsica preview by AF
- Corsica review by AF
- Corsica stage-by-stage times by JR
- Audio downloads from Corsica by Ralliart
21/03 - 24/03 - Rallye Catalunya - Rallye De Espaņa
- Catalunya stage map by JR
- Catalunya preview by AF
- Catalunya review by AF
- Catalunya stage-by-stage times by JR
- Audio downloads from Catalunya by Ralliart
18/04 - 21/04 - Cyprus Rally
- Cyprus stage map by JR
- Cyprus preview by AF
- Cyprus review by AF
- Cyprus stage-by-stage times by JR
16/05 - 19/05 - Rally Argentina
- Argentina stage map by JR
- Argentina preview by AF
- Argentina review by AF
- Argentina stage-by-stage times by JR
13/06 - 16/06 - Acropolis Rally
- Acropolis stage map by JR
- Acropolis preview by AF
- Acropolis review by AF
- Acropolis stage-by-stage times by JR
11/07 - 14/07 - Safari Rally Kenya
- Safari stage map by JR
- Safari preview by AF
- Safari review by AF
- Safari stage-by-stage times by JR
08/08 - 11/08 - Neste Rally Finland
- Finland stage map by JR
- Finland review by SS
- Finland stage-by-stage times by JR
22/08 - 25/08 - Int.Adac Rallye Deutschland
- Deutschland stage map by JR
- Deutschland review by AF
- Deutschland stage-by-stage times by JR
19/09 - 22/09 - Rallye Sanremo - Rallye D'Italia
- Sanremo stage map by JR
- Sanremo review by SS
- Sanremo stage-by-stage times by JR
03/10 - 06/10 - Propecia Rally Of New Zealand
- New Zealand stage map by JR
- New Zealand review by SS
- New Zealand stage-by-stage times by JR
31/10 - 03/11 - Telstra Rally Australia
14/11 - 17/11 - Network Q Rally Of Great Britain
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