The 2026 EKO Acropolis Rally, the eighth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), kicks off on Friday with the rally’s grueling opening leg.
Stretching across 129.22 competitive kilometers, it features six demanding gravel stages: Voxites, Parnassos, Elikonas, Thiva, and two passes through Steiri. Avoiding mechanical trouble will be paramount; crews will only have a single, 20-minute remote service in Livadia midday before heading to the final evening service in Loutraki. Crucially, during this remote service, teams are strictly limited to using only the tools and equipment carried inside their rally cars.
On Thursday, a super special stage took place at The Ellinikon Sports Park. Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier leads the overall standings clocking a time of 1:38.2 in his Toyota, edging out his Japanese teammate Takamoto Katsuta by exactly one second. 2024 Drivers’ Champion Thierry Neuville completed the top three, finishing 1.1 seconds adrift of Ogier. Meanwhile, Jourdan Serderidis posted the fastest time among the Greek drivers, crossing the line in 1:46.3 behind the wheel of his factory Ford Puma Rally1.
History of the Acropolis Rally
The Acropolis Rally started out as a marathon/endurance type event back in the early 1950s. When the rally became part of the World Rally Championship after 1973, the crews had to face up to almost 500 competitive miles (800 km) in some of the most grueling stages and conditions imaginable.
This trip involved locations all over Greece up to the late 1980s, such as the more well-known Kalambaka and Meteora, stages near Mount Olympus, Attica, Central Greece, and even in southern Greece on the Peloponnese. The traditional starting line was always under the legendary Acropolis in Athens, and the finish ceremony was carried out in the Panathenaic stadium.
The Acropolis Rally has been held since 1951 by the Greek Motorsports Organization Automobile and Touring Club of Greece (ELPA), making it one of the longest-standing competitions in international rallying. Many world-renown drivers have won this event, including Walter Röhrl, Björn Waldegård, Ari Vatanen, Stig Blomqvist, Juha Kankkunen, Carlos Sainz, and Colin McRae, among others.
Greece discontinued the rally in 2013 due to financial problems, caused by the decade-long financial crisis, but in 2020, the Greek government agreed to support the organizers financially. The Acropolis Rally returned to the WRC in 2021.
