The 2021 Acropolis Rally (also known as the EKO Acropolis Rally of Gods 2021) was a motor racing event for rally cars that held over four days between 9 and 12 September 2021. It marked the sixty-fifth running of the Acropolis Rally. The event was the ninth round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2021 event was based in the town of Lamia in Central Greece and contested over fifteen special stages totalling in competitive distance.
Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila were the reigning rally winners. However, they did not defend their titles as Latvala retired from the competition. Volkswagen Motorsport, the team they drove for in 2013, when Acropolis Rally held a World Rally Championship event last time, were the defending manufacturers' winners, but they did not defend their title neither when Volkswagen retired from the championship at the end of . Robert Kubica and Maciek Baran were the reigning rally winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category, but they did not defend their titles since Kubica was competing the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the overall rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturer's winners. In the World Rally Championship-2 category, Andreas Mikkelsen won the class with his new co-driver Elliott Edmondson. In the World Rally Championship-3 category, Yohan Rossel and Alexandre Coria finished first in the class. However, they were disqualified from the results after the rally as the front subframe on their Citroën C3 Rally2 was found to be overweight during the post-event scrutineering. The polish crew of Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak subsequently became the WRC-3 winners.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a thirty-eight-point lead, with the crew of Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin and of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe shared second. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a forty-one--point lead over defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, followed by M-Sport Ford WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene held an eleven-point lead ahead of Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Marco Bulacia Wilkinson and Marcelo Der Ohannesian in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT led Movisport by thirty-seven points, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel and Alexandre Coria were the championships leaders, followed by Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciek Szczepaniak, with Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche in third.
Entry list The following crews entered the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3, and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Eleven entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were ten in the World Rally Championship-2 and nineteen in the World Rally Championship-3.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 6 Dani Sordo Cándido Carrera Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Florian Haut-Labourdette Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 9 Jourdan Serderidis Frédéric Miclotte M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 16 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 18 Takamoto Katsuta Keaton Williams Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Chris Patterson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 20 Andreas Mikkelsen Elliott Edmondson Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 21 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen TRT World Rally Team Citroën C3 Rally2 22 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marcelo Der Ohannesian Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 23 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Movisport Ford Fiesta Rally2 24 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 25 Martin Prokop Michal Ernst M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 26 Sean Johnston Alex Kihurani Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 Rally2 27 Georg Linnamäe James Morgan ALM Motorsport Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 28 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 N Rally2 29 Crazy Leo Tom Woodburn Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 Rally2 Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 30 Yohan Rossel Alexandre Coria Yohan Rossel Citroën C3 Rally2 31 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 32 Fabrizio Zaldivar Carlos del Barrio Fabrizio Zaldivar Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 34 Chris Ingram Ross Whittock Chris Ingram Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 35 Emil Lindholm Reeta Hämäläinen Emil Lindholm Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 36 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Hyundai i20 R5 37 Emilio Fernández Ruben Garcia Emilio Fernández Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 38 Alberto Heller Marc Martí Alberto Heller Citroën C3 Rally2 39 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Diego Sanjuan de Eusebio Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 40 Lambros Athanassoulas Nikolaos Zakheos Lambros Athanassoulas Hyundai i20 N Rally2 41 Alex Tsouloftas Stelios Elia Alex Tsouloftas Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 42 Fabrizio Arengi Bentivoglio Massimiliano Bosi Fabrizio Arengi Bentivoglio Škoda Fabia R5 43 Paulo Nobre Gabriel Morales Paulo Nobre Škoda Fabia R5 45 Giorgos Kehagias Marios Tsaousoglou Giorgos Kehagias Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 46 Roustemis Panagiotis Konstantinos Nikolopoulos Roustemis Panagiotis Citroën DS3 R5 47 Panagiotis Hatzitsopanis Nikolaos Petropoulos Panagiotis Hatzitsopanis Ford Fiesta Rally2 48 Vasileios Velanis Ioannis Velanis Vasileios Velanis Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 49 Ioannis Plagos Alkiviadis Rentis Ioannis Plagos Citroën C3 Rally2 50 Spyridon Galerakis Konstantinos Soukoulis Spyridon Galerakis Škoda Fabia R5 Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 51 Simos Galatariotis Antonis Ioannou Simos Galatariotis Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 58 Molly Taylor Sebastian Marshall M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 65 Carlo Covi Michela Lorigiola Carlo Covi Peugeot 208 R2 Source:
Route Itinerary All dates and times are EET (UTC+3). Leg Date Time No. Stage name Distance 9 September 08:01 — Divri [Shakedown] 4.32 km 1 9 September 18:08 SS1 Cosmote 5G Athens Stage 0.98 km 10 September 10:18 SS2 Aghii Theodori 1 17.54 km 11:11 SS3 Loutraki 19.40 km 13:24 SS4 Aghii Theodori 2 17.54 km 15:47 SS5 Thiva 23.27 km 17:40 SS6 Elatia 11.65 km 2 11 September 08:32 SS7 Pavliani 1 24.25 km 09:57 SS8 Gravia 24.81 km 11:52 SS9 Bauxites 22.97 km 13:08 SS10 Eleftherochori 1 18.14 km 16:26 SS11 Pavliani 2 24.25 km 18:08 SS12 Eleftherochori 2 18.14 km 3 12 September 08:25 SS13 Tarzan 1 23.37 km 10:03 SS14 Pyrgos 33.20 km 13:18 SS15 Tarzan 2 [Power Stage] 12.68 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:28:24.6 0.0 25 5 2 2 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:29:06.7 +42.1 18 1 3 3 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:29:35.9 +1:11.3 15 3 4 4 6 Dani Sordo Cándido Carrera Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:31:25.6 +3:01.0 12 0 5 5 44 Gus Greensmith Chris Patterson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:34:09.6 +5:45.0 10 0 6 6 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3:35:07.3 +6:42.7 8 4 7 7 16 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:35:19.0 +6:54.4 6 0 8 8 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:37:05.7 +8:41.1 4 2 23 9 9 Jourdan Serderidis Frédéric Miclotte M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:55:42.1 +27:17.5 0 0 Retired SS13 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Florian Haut-Labourdette Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Mechanical 0 0 Did not start 18 Takamoto Katsuta Keaton Williams Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Withdrawn 0 0
Special stages Day Stage Stage name Length Winners Car Time Class leaders 9 September — Divri [Shakedown] 4.32 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 3:14.3 SS1 Cosmote 5G Athens Stage 0.98 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 51.5 Ogier / Ingrassia 10 September SS2 Aghii Theodori 1 17.54 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:15.8 SS3 Loutraki 19.40 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 13:04.4 Rovanperä / Halttunen SS4 Aghii Theodori 2 17.54 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 13:10.3 SS5 Thiva 23.27 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 15:25.2 SS6 Elatia 11.65 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:58.1 11 September SS7 Pavliani 1 24.25 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 19:27.7 SS8 Gravia 24.81 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 20:35.9 SS9 Bauxites 22.97 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 13:44.3 SS10 Eleftherochori 1 18.14 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 11:05.2 SS11 Pavliani 2 24.25 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 19:10.6 SS12 Eleftherochori 2 18.14 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10:42.0 12 September SS13 Tarzan 1 23.37 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 17:22.7 SS14 Pyrgos 33.20 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 25:24.4 SS15 Tarzan 2 [Power Stage] 12.68 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 8:34.8
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Sébastien Ogier 180 Julien Ingrassia 180 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 397 2 Elfyn Evans 136 Scott Martin 136 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 340 3 Thierry Neuville 130 Martijn Wydaeghe 130 M-Sport Ford WRT 153 4 Kalle Rovanperä 129 Jonne Halttunen 129 Hyundai 2C Competition 44 5 Ott Tänak 106 Martin Järveoja 106
World Rally Championship-2 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Stage Event 9 1 20 Andreas Mikkelsen Elliott Edmondson Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:37:27.1 0.0 25 3 2 10 2 22 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marcelo Der Ohannesian Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:37:43.8 +16.7 18 4 0 13 3 23 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Movisport Ford Fiesta Rally2 3:42:12.1 +4:45.0 15 1 1 15 4 27 Georg Linnamäe James Morgan ALM Motorsport Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:43:29.1 +6:02.0 12 2 0 16 5 25 Martin Prokop Michal Ernst M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 3:46:29.8 +9:02.7 10 0 0 17 6 26 Sean Johnston Alex Kihurani Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 Rally2 3:46:54.7 +9:27.6 8 0 0 20 7 29 Crazy Leo Tom Woodburn Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 Rally2 3:55:38.8 +18:11.7 6 0 0 31 8 21 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen TRT World Rally Team Citroën C3 Rally2 4:18:17.5 +40:50.4 4 5 0 Retired SS9 28 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 N Rally2 Crash 0 0 0 Did not start 20 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Withdrawn 0 0 0
Special stages