Sporting News Historic Acropolis Rally – Sporting – Winners: Jari-Matti Latvala – Tomiya Maekawa!
The 2026 Historic Acropolis Rally was one of the most difficult in the history of the event, with weather conditions playing a leading role and making life difficult for both people and machines. The problems that arose due to the intense weather phenomena were quickly dealt with by the organizers, and all the crews that reached the finish were happy and at the same time emotional for having successfully met the demands of this year’s event. The Historic Acropolis Rally returned to the international sporting calendar in 2023 and has since become firmly established on the international stage, this year forming the second round of the newly established European Historic Gravel Rally Championship.
Victory was claimed by Jari-Matti Latvala–Tomiya Maekawa, with the Finnish driver winning the event for the second consecutive year. The duo dominated, setting the fastest time in all Saturday special stages, while continuing at the same pace on Sunday, winning the first three stages of the day. However, the finale proved particularly stressful for the crew, as two stages before the finish they encountered a turbo problem on their Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD ST185. Latvala–Maekawa handled the mechanical issue with composure and, taking advantage of the significant gap they had already built over their rivals, managed to reach the finish in first place, with the car emitting smoke!
In second place overall were Kris Rosenberger–Nicola Januschke Bleicher, who performed excellently in the demanding stages of the event. The Subaru Impreza 555 crew started cautiously in the third leg, losing time due to heavy mud, which allowed their main rivals to close in. However, they later increased their pace, won one special stage, and celebrated their first podium finish in this year’s European Championship.
The first Greek crew and third overall were Achilleas Christodoulou–Konstantinos Soukoulis. With the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI in hand, the youngest driver of the event, despite suffering early in the rally due to a wrong tyre choice, later drove intelligently in the difficult surface conditions and climbed to the podium for the second consecutive year. The Greek crew never entered the battle for second place with the Austrians, knowing their car was more Group N than Group A and could not compete with the Group A Subaru Impreza of their rivals.
Grégoire de Mevius–André Leyh completed another Historic Acropolis Rally in fourth place overall with a Nissan Sunny GTI-R. The 1997 Group N World Champion drove briskly throughout the three days, even setting the fastest time on the final stage of the rally. After the finish, the Belgian driver appeared fully satisfied with his performance, once again expressing his love for Greece and its unique special stages. In their first event with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, Petros Panteli–Antonis Chrysostomou finished fifth overall. The Cypriot duo faced suspension issues on Friday night, which were repaired, unlike a problem with the car’s antilag system, which could not be fixed. Despite the difficulties, they reached the finish of the demanding rally. The crew of Vojtech Stajf–Veronika Havelkova also faced many issues with their Toyota Celica ST165, which was used on gravel for the first time, eventually finishing sixth overall.
Valuable European Championship points on Greek soil were collected by Christophe Jacob–Isabelle Regnier, who finished seventh overall, fifth among the crews scoring points in the international classification, and first in Category 3. The Belgians used their experience from the 2024 event and drove consistently and without unnecessary risks in their Ford Escort RS1800 MKII. On the final stage, they chose to reduce pace to secure the finish, a decision that cost them one position overall. One place behind them were Nemo Mazza–Mauro Marchiori with a Ford Escort RS1800 MKII, finishing second in Category 3. Eighth overall and first in the Greek Historic Rally Championship Categories 1–4 were Alexandros Christodoulou–Athanasios Samaras with a Lancia 037 Rally. The crew followed a suitable strategy, choosing not to push too hard, returning to victory one year after their last championship success, also winning Greek Category 4. In their best performance to date, Spyros Moustakas–Apostolos Lakasas finished tenth overall in their first appearance in the Sporting category of the Historic Acropolis Rally, impressing spectators with their driving in slippery conditions.
The Fiat 131 Racing crew completed the event in 11th overall, second in the Greek Championship Categories 1–4, third in Category 3, and first in the Greek Category 3. On the podium of the national championship were Themis Chalkias–Marios Tsousoglou who managed to tame the difficult Nissan 240RS. Despite an unresolved mechanical issue on Sunday, they reached the finish. Further back were Oldrich Kovarik jnr.–Marek Kapic with a Skoda Favorit 136L, and the Austrian crew Lukas Schindelegger–Helmut Schindelegger with a Ford Escort MKII. Strong stage times were set by Italians Andrea Succi–Fabio Graffieti in a BMW M3 E30, who could have achieved a better result without a puncture.
In the 1600 cc Cup, victory went to Ioannis Paravalos–Dionysis Kolotouros (Toyota Corolla AE92), while in the 1300 cc Cup it was claimed by Akis Ladias–Michalis Patrikousis with a Toyota Starlet, taking advantage of the retirement of Kostas Argyriou–Stamatis Laskos. They had a close battle with Giorgos Bertsatos–Kostas Kontos and Michalis Nomikos–Ioannis Giotis who completed the podium.
With the oldest car in the rally, a 1961 Skoda Octavia Super, Oldrich Kovarik snr.–Karel Jiratko finished the event, earning points for first place in Category 1 of the European Championship.
Victims of the extremely muddy conditions in Amfikleia were Marios Stafilopatis–Giorgos Chatzirigas, who rolled their Lancia Delta Integrale, losing more than 15 minutes and any chance of distinction.
The Region of Central Greece was one of the main supporters of this year’s Historic Acropolis Rally, contributing actively to the organization and smooth running of the event.
The Municipality of Lamia played a key role in the organization, as Lamia was one of the main reference points of the rally, hosting the Service Park and rally headquarters. The Municipality of Sofades also actively supported the event, strengthening the connection between local communities and motorsport.
Valuable assistance was also provided by the Region of Attica and the Regional Unit of Boeotia. In addition to the Municipality of Lamia and the Municipality of Sofades, the rally was also supported by the Municipalities of Athens, Thebes, Tanagra, Livadeia, Amfikleia–Elateia, and Aliartos.
The media sponsor was Cosmote TV, which has been present in recent years at all motorsport events in Greece.
The Historic Acropolis Rally has now become firmly established on the international sporting stage, receiving once again positive feedback from FIA observers. The Organizing Committee warmly thanks all crews, teams, mechanics, and everyone who contributed to the successful completion of the event, and looks forward to the 2027 Historic Acropolis Rally.
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