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2006 Acropolis Rally

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2006 Acropolis Rally
53rd Acropolis Rally
Round 8 of 16 in the 2006 World Rally Championship
← Previous eventNext event →
Xavier Pons during one of the super special stages
Host country Greece
Rally baseAthens
Dates run1 – 4 June 2006
Stages18 (355.62 km; 220.97 miles)[1]
Stage surfaceGravel
Transport distance923.67 km (573.94 miles)
Overall distance1,279.29 km (794.91 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered84
Crews84 at start, 69 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerFinland Marcus Grönholm
Finland Timo Rautiainen
United Kingdom BP Ford World Rally Team
3:56:26.8

The 2006 Acropolis Rally was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 1 and 4 June 2006. It marked the 53rd running of the Acropolis Rally, and was the eight round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season.[2] The event was also the fourth round of the 2006 Production World Rally Championship. The 2006 event was based in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece and was contested over eighteen special stages, covering a total competitive distance of 355.62km (220.97 miles).

Sebastien Loeb, along with Kronos Citroën World Rally Team were the defending rally winners, having won the previous five rallies in a row. Loeb lead championship rival Marcus Gronholm in the championship by 31 points coming into the weekend.

Gronholm and co-driver Timo Rautiainen won the rally, their first win since the 2006 Swedish Rally and their third win of the season.[3]

Background

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Entry List

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The following crews were set to enter the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship and its support category, the Production World Rally Championship, as well as privateer entries that were not registered to score points in the manufacturer's championship. Twenty two were entered under World Rally Car regulations, as were fifteen in the Production WRC category.[4]

World Rally Car entries competing in the World Rally Championship
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre
1 France Sebastien Loeb Monaco Daniel Elena Belgium Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC BF
2 Spain Xavier Pons Spain Carlos del Barrio Belgium Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC BF
3 Finland Marcus Gronholm Finland Timo Rautiainen United Kingdom BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF
4 Finland Mikko Hirvonen Finland Jarmo Lehtinen United Kingdom BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF
5 Norway Petter Solberg United Kingdom Phil Mills Japan Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 P
6 Australia Chris Atkinson Australia Glenn Macneall Japan Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 P
7 Austria Manfred Stohl Austria Ilka Minor Norway OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC BF
8 Norway Henning Solberg Norway Cato Menkerud Norway OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC BF
9 United Kingdom Matthew Wilson United Kingdom Michael Orr United Kingdom Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF
10 Finland Kosti Katajamäki Finland Timo Alanne United Kingdom Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF
11 Finland Harri Rovanperä Finland Risto Pietiläinen Austria Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC BF
12 Austria Andreas Aigner Germany Klaus Wicha Austria Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC BF
Group N entries competing in the Production WRC
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car
31 Japan Toshihiro Arai New Zealand Tony Sircombe Japan Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STI
32 Argentina Marcos Ligato Argentina Rubén García Argentina Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
34 Argentina Sebastián Beltran Chile Ricardo Rojas Argentina Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
35 Argentina Gabriel Pozzo Argentina Daniel Stillo Argentina Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
36 San Marino Mirco Baldacci Italy Giovanni Agnese France Mitsubishi Paris West Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
37 Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Italy Motoring Club Subaru Impreza WRX STI
38 Poland Leszek Kuzaj Poland Maciej Szczepaniak Japan Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI
39 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah United Kingdom Chris Patterson Qatar QMMF Subaru Impreza WRX STI
40 Italy Stefano Marrini Italy Sandroni Tiziana Italy Errani Team Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
41 Japan Takuma Kamada Japan Hakaru Ichino Japan Subaru Team Quasys Subaru Impreza WRX STI
42 Russia Sergey Uspenskiy Russia Dmitriy Eremeev Russia Subaru Rally Team Russia Subaru Impreza WRX STI
43 Slovenia Andrej Jereb Slovenia Miran Kacin Latvia OMV CEE World Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
45 Finland Aki Teiskonen Finland Miika Teiskonen Japan Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI
46 United Kingdom Nigel Heath United Kingdom Steve Lancaster United Kingdom PSM Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STI
60 Greece Dimitris Nassoulas Greece Mihalis Patrikoussis Greece Eko Racing Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
Other major entries
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car
14 Spain Dani Sordo Spain Marc Martí Belgium Kronos Racing Citroën Xsara WRC
16 Finland Toni Gardemeister Finland Jakke Honkanen Italy Astra Racing Citroën Xsara WRC
17 Czech Republic Jan Kopecký Czech Republic Filip Schovánek Czech Republic Czech RT Škoda Kopecký Škoda Fabia WRC
18 Belgium François Duval France Patrick Pivato Belgium First Motorsport Škoda Škoda Fabia WRC
19 Greece Armodios Vovos Greece "El-Em" Greece Armodios Vovos Subaru Impreza S11 WRC 05
20 Finland Jussi Välimäki Finland Jarkko Kalliolepo United Kingdom MMSP LTD Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05
66 Greece Konstantinos Apostolou Greece Kriadis Mihalis Greece Konstantinos Apostolou Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
67 Greece Manos Stefanis Greece Konstantinos Stafanis Greece Manos Stefanis Ford Focus WRC 02
78 Greece "Kirkos Junior" Greece Ioannis Sengos Greece "Kirkos Junior" Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII
96 Greece Dionissis Gazetas Greece Athanasios Papageorgiou Greece Dionissis Gazetas Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII

Itinerary

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All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2).

Date No. Time span Stage name Distance
1 June After 8:00 Amigdaleza [Shakedown] 4.40 km
SS1 After 18:00 Athens Olympic Stadium 1 2.80 km
2 June 8:00 Service A, Athens
SS2 After 8:38 Imittos 1 11.44 km
SS3 After 9:56 Skourta 1 23.80 km
SS4 After 11:14 Thiva 1 23.76 km
13:22 Service B, Athens
SS5 After 14:20 Imittos 2 11.44 km
SS6 After 15:38 Skourta 2 23.76 km
SS7 After 16:52 Thiva 2 23.76 km
18:46 Service C, Athens
3 June 8:00 Service D, Athens
SS8 After 8:57 Mandra 1 12.60 km
SS9 After 9:50 Kineta 1 37.33 km
SS10 After 11:13 Psatha 1 17.41 km
12:51 Service E, Athens
SS11 After 14:08 Mandra 2 12.60 km
SS12 After 15:01 Kineta 2 37.33 km
SS13 After 16:24 Psatha 2 17.41 km
17:44 Service F, Athens
4 June 6:40 Service G, Athens
SS14 After 7:47 Avlonas 1 23.90 km
SS15 After 8:55 Agia Sotira 1 24.77 km
10:08 Service H, Athens
SS16 After 11:35 Avlonas 2 23.90 km
SS17 After 12:43 Agia Sotira 2 24.77 km
13:46 Service I, Athens
SS18 After 14:15 Athens Olympic Stadium 2 2.80 km
Source:[5]

Report

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Overall

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Summary

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Petter Solberg would win the shakedown on thursday, beginning what would be his 100th world rally.[6] But it would be Loeb that won the first stage of the rally, a short super special stage inside of the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Gronholn would end up second, while shakedown winner Solberg would end up thirteenth on the opening day.[7]

Friday would be a display of absolute dominance by Gronholm, who won every single stage of the day. Petter Solberg would manage to end the day ahead of Loeb despite experiencing three punctures in the morning. Petter's brother Henning would suffer a tyre blow-out at high speed, dropping him to seventh overall, while Chris Atkinson was struck with a front differential issue, rendering his morning ruined.[8] The afternoon section of the leg would be less chaotic, with Hirvonen ending the day in fourth ahead of the surprisingly quick Duval. Gardemeister would drop to eighth after hitting a rock and experiencing shoulder pain in stage seven, handing sixth to Stohl.[9]

Saturday would entail a closer battle between Gronholm and Loeb; Gronholm would win four of the day's six stages, but crucially, Loeb would win the longest stage of the rally twice, limiting the damage and finishing the day within two minutes of the leader. Despite being second, a puncture resulting in heavy damage in the last stage of the day raised concerns that Loeb wouldn't be able to continue.[10][11] Henning Solberg would lose much of his braking power, but still set a competitive third fastest time in stage ten. Petter Solberg, meanwhile, would be forced to retire after crashing on the road section between stages twelve and thirteen. This would promote Hirvonen to third overall.[12]

On Sunday, Gronholm would extend his lead over Loeb despite overall driving cautiously to avoid a retirement on the rough Greek stages. It would be a recovering Petter Solberg who won all but the super special stage on the day, recovering to an impressive seventh after restarting in ninth. Loeb would not risk anything, continuing to fall behind Gronholm in order to protect his second place, which he successfully maintained. The tight battle for fourth would be interrupted by Stohl retiring after a roll and Sordo losing a minute with an engine issue.[13] This would hand fourth in the rally to Gardemeister. Henning Solberg held fifth by under a second from the charging Sordo. After an impressive start, Duval would retire on Saturday to finish thirteenth overall.[14]

Classification

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Position No. Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Difference Points
Event Class
1 1 3 Finland Marcus Gronholm Finland Timo Rautiainen United Kingdom BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 3:56:26.8 0.0 10
2 2 1 France Sebastien Loeb Monaco Daniel Elena Belgium Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC 3:58:53.6 +2:26.8 8
3 3 4 Finland Mikko Hirvonen Finland Jarmo Lehtinen United Kingdom BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:00:10.6 +3:43.8 6
4 4 16 Finland Toni Gardemeister Finland Jakke Honkanen Italy Astra Racing Citroën Xsara WRC 4:00:47.6 +4:20.8 5
5 5 8 Norway Henning Solberg Norway Cato Menkerud Norway OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC 4:01:22.4 +4:55.6 4
6 6 14 Spain Dani Sordo Spain Marc Martí Belgium Kronos Racing Citroën Xsara WRC 4:01:23.2 +4:56.4 3
7 7 5 Norway Petter Solberg United Kingdom Phil Mills Japan Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 4:02:01.2 +5:34.4 2
8 8 2 Spain Xavier Pons Spain Carlos del Barrio Belgium Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC 4:04:45.8 +8:19.0 1
9 9 20 Finland Jussi Välimäki Finland Jarkko Kalliolepo United Kingdom MMSP LTD Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05 4:07:55.5 +11:28.7 0
10 10 9 United Kingdom Matthew Wilson United Kingdom Michael Orr United Kingdom Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:09:57.6 +13:30.8 0
11 11 6 Australia Chris Atkinson Australia Glenn Macneall Japan Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 4:10:28.6 +14:01.8 0
12 12 11 Finland Harri Rovanperä Finland Risto Pietiläinen Austria Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC 4:11:02.4 +14:35.6 0
13 13 18 Belgium François Duval France Patrick Pivato Belgium First Motorsport Škoda Škoda Fabia WRC 4:14:31.2 +18:04.4 0
14 14 12 Austria Andreas Aigner Germany Klaus Wicha Austria Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC 4:17:17.7 +20:50.9 0
15 15 19 Greece Armodios Vovos Greece "El-Em" Greece Armodios Vovos Subaru Impreza S11 WRC 05 4:23:17.1 +26:50.3 0
16 16 17 Czech Republic Jan Kopecký Czech Republic Filip Schovánek Czech Republic Czech RT Škoda Kopecký Škoda Fabia WRC 4:24:45.6 +28:18.8 0
26 17 10 Finland Kosti Katajamäki Finland Timo Alanne United Kingdom Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:44:03.2 +47:36.4 0
49 18 96 Greece Dionissis Gazetas Greece Athanasios Papageorgiou Greece Dionissis Gazetas Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 5:38:38.9 +1:42:12.1 0
55 19 78 Greece "Kirkos Junior" Greece Ioannis Sengos Greece "Kirkos Junior" Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 5:55:23.1 +1:58:56.3 0
Retired SS14 7 Austria Manfred Stohl Austria Ilka Minor Norway OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC Accident 0
Retired SS11 67 Greece Manos Stefanis Greece Konstantinos Stafanis Greece Manos Stefanis Ford Focus WRC 02 Fire 0
Retired SS8 66 Greece Konstantinos Apostolou Greece Kriadis Mihalis Greece Konstantinos Apostolou Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Axle 0

Special Stages

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All dates and times are EEST (UTC+3).

Day Stage Time Name Length (km) Winner Time Rally leader
1
(1/2 June)
SS1 18:00 Athens Olympic Stadium 1 2.79 France Sébastien Loeb 2:21.4 France Sébastien Loeb
SS2 8:38 Imittos 1 11.43 Finland Marcus Grönholm 7:03.3 Finland Marcus Grönholm
SS3 9:56 Skourta 1 23.79 Finland Marcus Grönholm 14:40.1
SS4 11:14 Thiva 1 23.76 Finland Marcus Grönholm 17:16.9
SS5 14:20 Imittos 2 11.43 Finland Marcus Grönholm 6:58.3
SS6 15:38 Skourta 2 23.79 Finland Marcus Grönholm 14:29.6
SS7 16:56 Thiva 2 23.76 Finland Marcus Grönholm 16:54.1
2
(3 June)
SS8 8:57 Mandra 1 12.6 Finland Marcus Grönholm 8:50.7
SS9 9:50 Kineta 1 37.33 France Sébastien Loeb 25:39.1
SS10 11:13 Psatha 1 17.4 Finland Marcus Grönholm 11:21.3
SS11 14:08 Mandra 2 12.6 Finland Marcus Grönholm 8:43.1
SS12 15:01 Kineta 2 37.33 France Sébastien Loeb 25:20.2
SS13 16:24 Psatha 2 17.4 Finland Marcus Grönholm 11:23.6
3
(4 June)
SS14 7:47 Avlonas 1 23.89 Norway Petter Solberg 14:07.2
SS15 8:55 Agia Sotira 1 24.77 Norway Petter Solberg 17:02.0
SS16 11:35 Avlonas 2 23.89 Norway Petter Solberg 14:00.6
SS17 12:43 Agia Sotira 2 24.77 Norway Petter Solberg 16:49.6
SS18 14:15 Athens Olympic Stadium 2 2.79 Finland Marcus Grönholm 2:21.7

Championship Standings

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Pos. Drivers' Championship Manufacturers' Championship
Move Driver Points Move Manufacturer Points
1 France Sébastien Loeb 74 Belgium Kronos Citroën World Rally Team 96
2 Finland Marcus Gronholm 45 United Kingdom BP Ford World Rally Team 81
3 Spain Dani Sordo 33 Japan Subaru World Rally Team 63
4 2 Finland Mikko Hirvonen 21 Norway OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team 41
5 1 Austria Manfred Stohl 20 United Kingdom Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 17

Production WRC

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Classification

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Position No. Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Difference Points
Event Class
17 1 39 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah United Kingdom Chris Patterson Qatar QMMF Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:28:43.3 0.0 10
18 2 35 Argentina Gabriel Pozzo Argentina Daniel Stillo Argentina Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:28:55.3 +12.0 8
19 3 45 Finland Aki Teiskonen Finland Miika Teiskonen Japan Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 3:46:19.0 +1:01.2 6
20 4 36 San Marino Mirco Baldacci Italy Giovanni Agnese France Mitsubishi Paris West Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:32:37.4 +3:54.1 5
21 5 31 Japan Toshihiro Arai New Zealand Tony Sircombe Japan Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:33:37.7 +5:54.4 4
22 6 37 Finland Jari-Matti Latvala Finland Miikka Anttila Italy Motoring Club Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:36:11.2 +7:27.9 3
24 7 32 Argentina Marcos Ligato Argentina Rubén García Argentina Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:41:48.2 +13:04.9 2
27 8 40 Italy Stefano Marrini Italy Sandroni Tiziana Italy Errani Team Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:44:58.3 +16:15.0 1
29 9 42 Russia Sergey Uspenskiy Russia Dmitriy Eremeev Russia Subaru Rally Team Russia Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:49:35.8 +20:52.5 0
30 10 34 Argentina Sebastián Beltran Chile Ricardo Rojas Argentina Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:52:02.5 +23:19.2 0
32 11 46 United Kingdom Nigel Heath United Kingdom Steve Lancaster United Kingdom PSM Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:58:07.0 +29:23.7 0
33 12 41 Japan Takuma Kamada Japan Hakaru Ichino Japan Subaru Team Quasys Subaru Impreza WRX STI 5:03:11.2 +34:27.9 0
37 13 43 Slovenia Andrej Jereb Slovenia Miran Kacin Latvia OMV CEE World Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 5:10:08.6 +41:25.3 0
44 14 60 Greece Dimitris Nassoulas Greece Mihalis Patrikoussis Greece Eko Racing Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 5:21:50.1 +53:06.8 0
Retired SS4 38 Poland Leszek Kuzaj Poland Maciej Szczepaniak Japan Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI Accident 0

Championship Standings

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Pos. Drivers' Championship
Move Driver Points
1 Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah 34
2 1 San Marino Mirco Baldacci 17
3 1 Japan Toshihiro Arai 15
4 2 Poland Leszek Kuzaj 13
5 Japan Fumio Nutahara 10

References

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  1. ^ https://www.ewrc-results.com/timetable/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/
  2. ^ Shacki. "Season 2006 rally - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  3. ^ Shacki. "Final results BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 2006". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  4. ^ Shacki. "Entry list BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 2006". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  5. ^ https://www.ewrc-results.com/timetable/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/
  6. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/solberg-tops-acropolis-shakedown-4401871/4401871/
  7. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/loeb-takes-early-acropolis-lead-4401840/4401840/
  8. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-pulls-away-in-greece-4401842/4401842/
  9. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-dominates-leg-one-4401813/4401813/
  10. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/loeb-closes-in-on-gronholm-4401824/4401824/
  11. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/loeb-fears-damage-is-too-severe-4403799/4403799/
  12. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-moves-clear-in-greece-4403793/4403793/
  13. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-extends-lead-further-4403772/4403772/
  14. ^ https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-clinches-dominant-win-4403777/4403777/
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