Thierry Neuville’s Acropolis Rally dreams shattered by back-to-back punctures
Belgian driver Thierry Neuville’s hopes for victory at the Acropolis Rally Greece have been brutally crushed by consecutive punctures, leaving him over 2 minutes and 30 seconds behind the leader. As the reigning world champion, Neuville was aiming for a strong performance to defend his title but now finds himself facing a massive setback.
Neuville, who has claimed victory at the rally twice before, was leading after three stages but a puncture on SS4 caused him to lose nearly 40 seconds, pushing him down to sixth place. Despite his decision not to stop and change the tire on SS4, Neuville suffered another puncture on the following stage, forcing him to stop and costing him an additional two minutes.
Expressing his frustration at the turn of events, Neuville described the situation as a “disaster,” emphasizing that the punctures occurred without any apparent reason. Determined to soldier on, he vowed to continue driving until the end of the rally.
Meanwhile, in the intense battle at the front of the pack, Ott Tänak has closed in to within 2.9 seconds of Sébastien Ogier, with Adrien Fourmaux, the stage winner, trailing the leader by 11 seconds. With Neuville’s title defense now hanging by a thread, the Acropolis Rally is shaping up to be a fierce and unpredictable competition.
