Sebastien Ogier will compete for Toyota in the Acropolis Rally in Greece in mid-September 2023 – It will be his sixth appearance
Sebastien Ogier will once again compete for Toyota at the tenth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Greece in September. The eight-time world champion will complete a part-time programme for the second consecutive season in 2023. The Frenchman is expected to contest up to seven rounds this year.
Ogier has claimed three wins so far this season in the Rally1 standings: Monaco, Mexico and Kenya. The Frenchman has missed four rallies so far, which is why he is fifth in the overall standings. Following Elfyn Evans’ victory at Rally Finland in August, Ogier revealed in a social media post that the 39-year-old wants to compete in Greece for the first time since 2021.
“I am super proud of my team again,” Ogier posted on social media. “It was a very good job and a fantastic result. Congratulations especially to Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin and I’m also very happy for Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston who were on the podium. See you soon in Greece.”
The 39-year-old previously won the Acropolis Rally in 2011. Back then he beat his Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb by 10.5 seconds. With Ogier, Toyota will again field four Yaris in Greece. Alongside Ogier, championship leader Kalle Rovanperä, Evans and Katsuta will start for the Japanese team.
There is one more change to the field for Greece, with Hyundai confirming that veteran Dani Sordo will take over the third i20 N after Finn Teemu Suninen drove the car to fifth and fourth places in Estonia and Finland respectively.
Sordo was on hand in Estonia to help Suninen adapt to the Rally 1 car as the Finn drove a hybrid car in the WRC for the first time. The 40-year-old and winner Thierry Neuville took the first WRC podium for Hyundai at last year’s Acropolis Rally. The Belgian won, Ott Tänak was second and Sordo secured third place.
The Spaniard’s best result on Greece’s rough gravel tracks dates back to the 2013 season, when he finished second behind then-Volkswagen driver Jari-Matti Latvala. “We are looking forward to racing Esapekka, Dani and Thierry again in Greece after a well-deserved break,” said Hyundai Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul.
