WRC2 CHAMPION 2022

Emil Lindholm Emil Lindholm

WRC2 CHAMPION 2022

Emil Lindholm Emil Lindholm

WRC2 CHAMPION 2022

Emil Lindholm Emil Lindholm

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Lindholm ready for the challenges of the Acropolis Rally

07 September 2021

Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen, who are competing with Toksport WRT's Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, are aware of the challenges brought by the twisty, rocky mountain roads of the WRC EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. A chance for the Finnish duo to rise high on results of the WRC3-class will be possible with an intact driving performance.

The ninth World Rally Championship event of the season, WRC EKO Acropolis Rally Greece, returns to the World Championship calendar after an eight-year hiatus. Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen, who are competing with Toksport WRT's Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo in WRC3 class, are ready to face the new challenges brought by the WRC-event, which last appeared in the World Championship calendar in 2013.

The Greek Acropolis Rally is known to put cars and crews through tough situations. Lindholm, who is starting in the Acropolis Rally for the first time, says that him and his team are well prepared for the rally and are ready for the upcoming weekend.

“There are two types of roads on the route: some are in a really bad condition and a few sections are in a surprisingly good state. How the road surface starts to erupt is its own story, which we will see as the competition goes on. However, we have to enter the route with a pretty high car. The pre-tests went well and everything is ready for the weekend”, says Lindholm, who was reached to comment from the recce.

The Greek Acropolis Rally is notoriously a rally that you can’t drive pedal to the metal.

“The nature of the Acropolis rally requires that cars and tires must be saved. Heat can also cause problems. Special stages have big holes and high bumps on the road, so in the worst places you have to drive excessively slow. We already drove cautiously in Portugal, in our opinion, and yet we still had all kinds of action happening to us”, Lindholm says.

“Here you have to drive extremely carefully and that is the way the rally should be done without any problems. And if that happens, you’re high on the WRC3-class results. The most important thing in this event is to adjust the pace to suit the conditions”, Lindholm recalls.

The Greek Acropolis Rally kicks off on Thursday morning with a shakedown. The official start of the rally will take place later in the evening on the Acropolis Citadel of Athens, followed by the 1 km long city centre street stage around Syntagma Square. On Friday, the route will head to the Peloponnese peninsula. The program of the day includes five special stages with a total length of 89.40 km.

Saturday is the longest day of the event. A total of six special stages and 132.56 kilometres of competitive stages are driven south of Lamia. Sunday's special stages are located on the west side of Lamia and the program includes the longest 33.20 km long Pyrgos and Tarzan. The latter stage is driven twice of which, the second time shortened (12.68 km) and it is the final Power Stage. The first competitor will start the last special stage of the rally on Sunday at 13:18 EEST.