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Panagiotounis’ guide to Saturday’s ERC Acropolis Rally stages

Elias Panagiotounis, co-driver to Lambros Anathassoulas, gives his guide to the stages on leg one of the SEAJETS Acropolis Rally, round three of the FIA European Rally Championship.

SS1 and SS4 SEAJETS New Gravia (25.70 kilometres) 10h08/14h47

"This used to be known as the Drosohori stage, which was used a lot on the world championship, and for me it's the most complicated one of the whole rally. If there's one place where you have to be careful it's here, and I think we're going to see a lot of trouble and a lot of punctures: there are some very rough rocks and the driving conditions are really complicated. If it rains here it will be almost impossible, especially for the two-wheel drive cars during the second passage through the stage. And in fact, the forecast is for some rain during the afternoon, although we do not know exactly when."

SS2 and SS5 EKO Racing Amfissa (14.29 kilometres) 11h01/15h40

"After the difficulties of the first stage, this one is really nice and enjoyable to drive. It's our favourite of the day. The roads are actually quite wide and open, while the surface is not too rough. This means that you can carry a lot of speed with the car and make it flow from corner to corner, so the pace notes are really important here to find a nice rhythm. It's been a part of the Acropolis Rally since the 1970s and goes slightly uphill at the start, then crosses a forest and ends up in the village of Prosilio."

SS3 and SS6: Paleohori (12.43 kilometres) 12h04/16h43

"Another historic name from the Acropolis Rally! These are all classic stages. In character, this has some similar points to the stage before and again it's really fun to drive. The stage goes uphill at the start and then there is quite a rough part by the lake. After the lake, the road becomes narrow but it is still quite fast all the way to the end in the village. This stage is always really popular with spectators, so I'm sure we will get a lot of local support, which is always a big motivation. You need to be careful here: it's a stage that can catch you out."

Zdroj: fiaerc.com