A look ahead to stage 10 of the World Rally Championship, Rally Greece
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00:00 The Acropolis, scene of Hyundai's first WRC podium lockout a year ago.
00:07 Thierry Nivelle leading home a memorable 1-2-3 ahead of Euch Tanek and Danny Sorda.
00:13 Obviously it's a result we were looking for for a long time.
00:17 A rally where we have always been quite good speed.
00:20 And last year obviously was the lucky weekend for Hyundai.
00:25 We secured that 1-2-3.
00:27 The car was very strong, we were stronger than our main competitors.
00:30 It felt like a controlled drive throughout the whole weekend and an enjoyable drive as well.
00:35 Last year's Acropolis victory was Nivelle's first of what had been a frustrating season.
00:40 A year on, the Belgian returns to Greece in good form on the back of strong outings in Estonia and Finland.
00:46 Runner-up both times to revive hopes of challenging for that elusive maiden world title.
00:52 Still a long shot, some 36 points off with four rounds to run.
00:57 A repeat of last year's Acropolis success would keep him in contention of course.
01:00 For all its fearsome reputation, it's an event Nivelle enjoys.
01:04 I mean there's a bit of different characteristics between all three days.
01:11 And that's what makes it so challenging as well.
01:14 You need to have a car that works good every day, but also which is reliable and strong for rough conditions.
01:21 Usually you can push quite hard in rally Greece, but there are a couple of sections where you need to slow down the speed.
01:26 You need to predict the good ride height as well to try to keep your car safe from any damage.
01:31 And then obviously I mean it's teamwork and the reliability and the preparation of the car is very important as well.
01:37 It can be really hot, a lot of loose gravel and stones.
01:41 The stages are quite sandy and soft many times.
01:44 So mostly it's just really rough for the cars and the tyres.
01:49 Definitely a rally where you cannot push from start to the finish all the time maximum, because you need to take care of the car also.
01:56 And yeah, also in the long stages it can be a bit demanding for the drivers and road drivers.
02:02 Kalle Rovampera, winner of the Acropolis on his return to the calendar two years ago,
02:07 in stark contrast to last season, the Finns struggling, opening the road before dropping out on Saturday morning's first pass through the Tarzan stage.
02:16 Toyota in truth were off the pace. Year on, the Aris appears much happier on rough gravel.
02:22 I think we have just improved the car on this kind of areas.
02:27 We were lacking a lot of traction and grip on these rough rallies.
02:32 This year, rallies like Mexico and those were fine, Sardinia also.
02:37 So it seems that the car is now working on these conditions.
02:41 So we should be much more confident going to Greece, but it's still definitely when you open the road,
02:47 it's not the rally which you enjoy the most, I would say.
02:50 Friday is really long and demanding day opening the roads.
02:54 And then it's more like minimising the loss of weekend when you start first, I think.
02:59 I think.
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