From the moment the programme of this year’s Acropolis Rally, 10th round of the World Rally Championship, was announced, everyone had “circled” the second day, which took place on Saturday 7 September, as the most difficult of the event.
The reason was not so much about the number of the 6 special stages (Rengini – 28,67 km., Thiva- 20,95 km., Aghii Theodoroi X 2 – 25,87 km., Loutraki – 12,90 km., SSS – 1,97 km), nor the 116,23 rallying and 695,64 total kilometers, but the fact that the crews were on the road for more than 16 hours, while there was no intermediate service, but only a Tyre Fitting Zone.
If we add the fact that the day started and ended in Lamia, while during its course the cars arrived in the area of Korinthia, then the magnitude of the difficulty becomes perfectly understandable.
For their part, Manos and Kostas Stefanis knew that in order to increase their chances of “survival” on such a difficult day, they had to follow a similar strategy to the one they adopted yesterday.
And so it happened, with the Traction Rally Team crew’s main concern being the protection of the Ford Fiesta Rally3, but that doesn’t mean that where possible, they wouldn’t try to increase the pace.
On the first and longest special stage of both the day and the rally (Rengini), the duo was fast while avoiding any mishaps. Similar tactic was adopted in Special Stage Thiva, before heading to Corinthia.
There, the strategy was varied, as the many stones and the roughness of the surface, combined with the heat, increased the degree of difficulty, making tyre punctures or other types of mechanical problems very likely.
With this in mind, Manos and Kostas Stefanis focused on avoiding any risk, in order to complete without damage the most demanding, from every point of view, day of this year’s Acropolis Rally.
This strategy paid off, so after the night Super Special Stag, which attracted a large number of spectators and the overall completion of the second day, Manos and Kostas Stefanis managed to climb significantly in the general classification.
More specifically, they managed to climb to 34th place, from 50th where they started the day, while at the same time they have entered the WRC3 top ten (10th place) for Rally3 cars and the top five among Greek crews (5th place).
The Acropolis Rally concludes on Sunday 8 September with 3 special stages (Oinohori – 17.47 km, Eleftherohori X 2 – 18.29 km) and a total length of 54,05 racing kilometres.
However, the epilogue cannot be described as easy, since the strain on people and machines is already great, while the sudden violent storm in the area around Lamia on Saturday evening is expected to make the passages of the special stages even more difficult.
The participation of Manos and Kostas Stefanis is sponsored by Coral S.A. – Shell Licensee.
Quotes
Manos Stefanis: “We are at the end of a very tiring day, feeling satisfied as we managed to handle very difficult conditions on the special stages without any problems. Rengini and Thiva were, by the standards of an Acropolis, in relatively better condition, so I can say that there, I enjoyed, mutatis mutandis, the driving. On the other hand, the special stages in the area of Loutraki were very rough, with lots of stones on the road surface, so the risk of clipping or damage was lurking. Also, in the super special we tried be as spectacular as possible. Given my competitive abstinence, having practically participated in major races for the last time in 2007, I am pleased with the outcome of the day.”
Kostas Stefanis: “The lack of intermediate service, as well as the roughness of the special stages, practically determined our strategy during the day. The Rengini and Thiva stages, although demanding, were in better condition. As for Aghii Theodoroi and Loutraki, we basically tried to “avoid every stone”, hoping that we would not encounter any major problems. At the end of the day, despite the fatigue, we tried to put on a show on the Super Special Stage, to thank the fans for their presence. Driving-wise, Manos showed restraint, constantly controlling the situation and varying his pace accordingly, while the Ford Fiesta Rally3 also proved once again, very reliable, as we moved smoothly throughout the day.”
Photos: Rallypixels
