Three drivers’ had yet to get off the mark this season - namely Gabriel Pozzo, Takuma Kamada and Aki Teiskonen. The latter looked set to take fifth in Argentina back in April, his first event in this year’s PCWRC, until a broken steering arm forced him out.
"I think this is a survival rally, like Cyprus, so we will take extra spare parts in the car," said Aki. "It will be like the Dakar but it means we should be able to make most repairs between stages. This year's rally has a completely new route as it is based in Athens and not further north too. I am quite happy about this because it means it will be new for everyone and so my lack of experience of the rally won't be so important. Not only do I not know this rally but I haven't had much experience of rough gravel events like Greece and Cyprus. The roads in Finland are much smoother!"
The OMV CEE WRT meanwhile have been forced to make a change for this event. Romanian driver, Bogdan Marisca had been schedule to compete in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII but the team was unable to get the necessary documentation from the Romanian motor sports committee, the ASN, which would have allowed him to drive. As such six-time Slovenian champion, Andrej Jereb, has been drafted it at short notice to fill the void.
"We tried everything but the ASN once again wasn't able to guarantee licence and clearance," explained Petrom Rally team manager, Paul Patrichi. "This would have meant risking the disqualification of the OMV CEE World Rally Team in this series and we couldn't do that."
For Jereb this will be his second outing in the WRC this year, after he also completed in Monte Carlo with a
Subaru Impreza WRX, when he finished fifth in the Group N class.
"Even though it is our first time on gravel in the
FIA World Rally Championship I'm nevertheless confident that we will reach the finish thanks to our long-time experience and perhaps have the opportunity to score one or two WRC-points," said Jereb, who has been rallying since 1993.
Other significant entries:
Around 91 crews have entered the Acropolis Rally, including 21 WRC cars.
Kronos
Citroen will again enter an additional car for Junior World Rally champion
Daniel Sordo, fresh from his fantastic third place finish in Sardinia - his third 'senior' podium of the year on only his seventh outing in a WRC and only his third with the Xsara WRC on gravel!
