The legendary Acropolis Rally—seventh stop on the 2025 World Rally Championship tour—lived up to its fearsome reputation, dishing out brutal punishment to both drivers and machines. For Finland’s Sami Pajari and co-driver Marko Salminen, what began as a sparkling campaign quickly unraveled under the merciless gaze of the Greek rally gods. A fuel system issue on Friday prematurely halted their charge, though the crew valiantly returned on Sunday to gather priceless mileage as the event’s road openers.
Known colloquially as the Rally of the Gods, the Acropolis Rally proved once again that divine favour is fickle. Despite hopeful allusions to celestial assistance ahead of the event, Pajari was met not with blessings, but bitter mechanical misfortune.
The rally opened Thursday evening with a short asphalt stage in Athens—a ceremonial sprint more than a contest, delayed by traffic chaos that pushed the schedule back by two hours. A restless night followed for the crews, who relocated westward to Loutraki for the real battle on Friday morning.
And what a start it was. Pajari blazed through the first gravel stage with confidence, clocking the second-fastest time, a mere 0.7 seconds adrift of Sébastien Ogier. Though the second stage saw a slight drop in rhythm, the Finn still held a commendable fourth overall, just 6.6 seconds off leader Thierry Neuville.
“We drove the opener cautiously, well within the comfort zone. Tried the same on the second, but it just didn’t seem to work as well,” Pajari reflected.
Returning to the day’s opening stage, tyre dramas began to plague the field. Pajari managed to avoid stopping to change a tyre, but instead completed the final section carefully after the tread on his front-left tyre began to delaminate. Despite the setback, he maintained fourth place.
“Towards the end, it didn’t feel right, so we backed off slightly just to get through.”
For the afternoon’s stages, the team opted for a full set of hard compound tyres. But as the route turned northward toward Lamia, the Thiva stage saw Pajari lose a touch of edge—dropping to ninth on the stage and slipping behind Kalle Rovanperä overall.
“A tricky stage—surprisingly slippery with heavy bumps. Probably played it a bit safe,” Pajari mused, unaware that fate had a far greater challenge in store.
At a subsequent refueling zone, a leak was detected on the car. The precise source remained unclear at the time, but thorough overnight checks revealed the problem lay within the fuel system. Temporary repairs allowed the car to venture out briefly on Saturday, only to retire again soon after—providing Toyota Gazoo Racing with valuable time for a deeper fix and prompting the crew to set their sights on a new role: Sunday’s road sweepers.
Saturday became a day of preparation, rest, and virtual reconnaissance. In the sweltering Greek heat, studying pace notes and stealing moments for cold ice cream were all part of the game.
“Sunday will be something new—cleaning the road as the first car out. A fresh experience to learn from, and one I hope will serve us well in the future,” said Pajari.
And learn they did. Pajari opened Sunday with a superb time on the twisting Smokovo stage, only surpassed by Neuville—who started sixth on the road. It was an impressive showing for a road opener.
“Really tight and technical—pretty slippery too. We just focused on keeping it tidy. A fun stage overall,” he reported.
As Sunday progressed, Pajari and Salminen quietly climbed the standings. When Neuville encountered mechanical trouble in the penultimate stage, Pajari pounced—slipping ahead to claim the final available Sunday points. The Power Stage did not alter that outcome, and the Finns left Greece with something tangible despite the earlier heartbreak.
“The result, in the end, wasn’t what we’d hoped for—but I’m grateful we were able to continue and gain experience running first on the road. Huge thanks to the team for getting the car back in shape.”
The World Rally Championship continues in just over two weeks’s time, as the teams head north to the fast and flowing gravel roads of Estonia.