This year’s Acropolis Rally may be a particularly short version of the Greek classic, but high temperatures promise to make it as punishing as ever. The weather forecast suggests that the final day (Sunday) could provide an interesting sting in the tail, however.
On a enfin retrouvé le soleil qui nous a tant manqué ces dernières semaines en Europe de l’Ouest. Ce 59e Rallye d’Acropole s’annonce très intense, très chaud, orageux peut-être…
The 2012 ‘Rally of Gods’ took place one week earlier than this year’s event and was marked by sometimes torrential rain. There was a storm when we arrived at the coast-side service park, with impressive bolts of lightning out as sea, over the Corinthian Gulf...
This time, in contrast, we were greeted by a picture-postcard blue sky and we are told that the temperature is likely to exceed 30°C this afternoon. This hot weather is expected to continue for the first two days of the rally, but the possibility of localised storms for Sunday’s 83km of stages cannot be ruled out, and that would provide survivors with a very different challenge in the region’s notoriously rocky mountains.
Given the rally’s compact format, with just 306km of competitive action, the drivers will need to hit the ground running on Day 1 (Friday). Only two stages are scheduled, but they include the longest of the weekend (SS1, 'Kineta-Pissia', 47.70km), plus a 26km test ('Kineta') which is scheduled to start after sunset.
The current generation of drivers has little experience of competing on gravel in the dark and many of them still have vivid memories of the night-time dirt stage in Catalonia in 2011, when hanging dust caused havoc.
At the moment, there is a brisk wind blowing over the hills to the east of the event’s host town, the casino seaside resort of Loutraki. If the wind continues, that should help to clear the dust thrown up by the cars. However, to minimise the risk of hanging dust hampering visibility, the organisers have allowed a gap of four minutes between the Priority 1 runners on SS2.
Even so, crews might want to think hard about their start order when the time comes to announce their choices shortly after midday Friday, as a function of their respective performances on the morning’s Qualifying Stage… Could the guarantee of a dust-free run on ‘Kineta’ compensate for the handicap of being the first car to tackle SS1 and SS2, which total 73.75km?
L’an passé, le « Rallye des Dieux » était programmé quinze jours plus tôt et fut marqué par des averses torrentielles. Nous étions même arrivés à Loutraki sous l’orage, les éclairs illuminant le golfe de Corinthe.
Cette année, le ciel est bleu et les températures devraient avoisiner les 30°C cet après-midi. Le beau temps devrait se maintenir les deux jours prochains, mais des orages localisés pourraient éclater dimanche dans les montagnes autour de Loutraki.
Etant donné le format compact de cette épreuve, avec 306 km chronométrés, le rythme devrait être élevé dès vendredi soir avec deux spéciales au programme : Kineta-Pissia (47,70 km), la plus longue du rallye, et Kineta (26 km) dont le départ sera donné de nuit à 21h26.
Les pilotes de WRC actuels ont peu d’expérience des spéciales nocturnes sur terre et certains gardent un souvenir amer et « poussiéreux » du Rallye Catalunya 2011 ! Il y avait du vent ce matin sur le front de mer de Loutraki, mais qu’en sera-t-il demain soir ? Les organisateurs ont prévu un écart de 4 minutes entre chaque concurrent prioritaire 1 pour l’ES2.
Ces concurrents –là donneront leurs positions de départ vendredi en début d’après-midi en fonction de leurs résultats dans la Qualifying Stage (3 km) disputée demain matin. Est-ce que le désavantage d’ouvrir la route sur les ES1 et 2 (73,75 km) sera compensé par une meilleure visibilité ?
