The Serene Charm of Greece’s Sikinos
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Greece welcomes 69 crews representing 31 countries for the historic Acropolis Rally dubbed the “Rally of Gods”. On Thursday, the cars will cross the ceremonial start ramp in front of the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens for Round 7 of the 2025 FIA WRC calendar.
The Acropolis Rally, the third consecutive gravel event following Portugal and Sardinia, will challenge crews and cars across 17 grueling special stages, totaling 345.76 competitive kilometers.
This year’s route has already earned praise, while excitement will run high from the very beginning, thanks to the EKO Athens Super Special Stage, which will light up the heart of the Greek capital.
The entry list reflects the event’s competitive strength, with 12 Rally1 cars – the highest number since the Acropolis returned to the WRC in 2021.
Toyota Gazoo Racing, the 2024 World Champion team, comes to Greece with five GR Yaris Rally1 cars. Elfyn Evans remains in title contention, while two-time World Champion Kalle Rovanpera aims to shake up the standings. Takamoto Katsuta keeps his steady form, joined by eight-time World Champion Sebastien Ogier, making his fifth WRC season appearance. In addition, Sami Pajari, showing consistent progress this year, will also drive a GR Yaris Rally1.
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT fields its proven i20 N Rally1 cars for 2024 and 2019 World Champions, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak, respectively, with Adrien Fourmaux rounding out the lineup – always a threat for a surprise result.
M-Sport Ford makes a strong statement with four Puma Rally1 entries. Gregoire Munster and Josh McErlean continue their full-season campaigns, with Martins Sesks joining the effort and Greek driver Jourdan Serderidis proudly representing his home country at the top level.
Behind the Rally1 entries, competition in WRC2 promises to be fierce. Among the 37 Rally2 cars, Yohan Rossel (Citroen C3) and Oliver Solberg (Toyota GR Yaris) lead the title fight, while Gus Greensmith (Skoda Fabia RS) and Jan Solans (Toyota GR Yaris) look to close the gap.
Also featured is Round 3 of the 2025 Junior WRC, with nine Ford Fiesta Rally3 entries, led by 21-year-old Australian Taylor Gill, who currently tops the standings.
Greek participation is robust, featuring 11 local crews. Among them are the 2024 Greek Champion Giorgos Amoutzas (Skoda Fabia Evo Rally2) and Nontas Karanikolas (Ford Fiesta Rally2), last year’s national Rally3 champion. Yiannis Plagos (Skoda Fabia Rally2) also stands out among the nationals, with his car once again in Hellenic Police livery. The Greek roster is completed by five Rally3 crews and two Rally4 crews.
The EKO Acropolis Rally 2025 is ready to welcome the world’s best for four days of intense action, competition, and high-stakes rallying. From June 26 to 29, all eyes in the motorsport world will be on Greece.
The Acropolis Rally started out as a marathon/endurance type event back in the early 50’s. When the rally became part of the World Rally Championship after 1973, the crews had to face up to 800 competitive kilometers, in some of the most grueling stages and conditions imaginable.
This trip involved locations all over Greece up to the late 80’s, such as the more known Kalambaka and Meteora, stages near Mount Olympus, Attica, Central Greece, and even down south in the Peloponnese. The traditional start always took place 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 world 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.
