ATHENS, Greece: Jari-Matti Latvala won the Acropolis Rally, the 6th round of the World Rally Championship, yesterday for his first victory of the season.
The Volkswagen driver finished 1 minute, 50 seconds ahead of Daniel Sordo in a Citroen on the third and final day. Thierry Neuville, driving a Ford Fiesta RS, was 2:14.1 behind Latvala in third.
Latvala seized the lead early Saturday, after Evgeny Novikov hit a rock, damaging his suspension and having to change a well. Novikov, driving a Ford Fiesta, eventually finished 9th overall, more than eight minutes behind the winner.
Latvala had built an overnight lead of more than a minute over Sordo and was not threatened during the final day, steadily adding to his advantage over the four special stages.
Fourth-place finisher Andreas Mikkelsen, also of Volkswagen, won the first three stages of the day to overtake Nasser Al Attiyah in the final standings.
WRC points leader Sebastien Ogier finished 10th overall. He was knocked out of contention early after a tire puncture and fuel pressure problems, but did win the final Power Stage, allowing him to add 3 points to the overall standings race, reaching 125. Latvala is second with 74.
There are seven rounds remaining in this year’s WRC championship, beginning with the Rally d’ Italia on the island of Sardinia on June 20-23.
Latvala claims Acropolis Rally
