Lauri Joona's Acropolis Rally ended with a Power Stage win

Lauri Joona drove to the first special stage wins in the WRC2 class in the World Rally Championship in Greece. In the final results of the class, Joona finally finished seventh.

The extreme conditions of the Acropolis rally were already in the headlines long before the start of the race. First, forest fires raged in Greece, then heavy rains arrived, which made the roads, which were already in poor condition, even more challenging. Fortunately, the rains receded just before the rally, and the sun appeared just before the starting ceremonies.

- It's quite wet, and the route is interesting. There are big rocks on the road and mud slush still on top, it's quite a mix. But let's go with what's available, a challenging race is definitely coming, predicts Lauri Joona , competing in the WRC2 class, before the start of the race.

And he was right, it really hurt and happened in the race! Joona and karter Tuukka Shemeikka started quite sensibly and in an upward direction, and in the fifth special stage the first WRC2 class bottom time of their career was recorded.

The two were spared the worst technical problems until Saturday afternoon, but then Joona's Skoda Fabia RS suffered from flat tires in consecutive special tests.

- Good lap times have been run so far, and the feeling is good. Today, a couple of tires went flat, on the last stretch we drove about 10 kilometers on a three-wheeler. It's quite a matter of luck when those tire breakers come, the roads were in really good condition, reports Joona about Saturday's conditions.

On Sunday, Joona's good driving flow continued and the Acropolis rally ended in the best possible way with the victory of the Power Stage. In the final results of the WRC2 class, Joona and Shemeikka are in seventh place, in the WRC2 Challenger results of rookie drivers, the duo is in third place.

- The race left a positive taste, even though the conditions were really tough and there were a couple of flat tires. The car worked well and the new car was perfect for these roads. The first low times in the WRC2 class show that the pace is there and the driving courage is starting to be found, Joona rejoiced on Sunday afternoon after the race ended.

- The Acropolis rally was a very good and instructive race. Of course, there are still areas for development, and we will focus on them after the race. The race is not only about driving to the finish line, but the homework must be done as carefully as possible with the next years in mind.

Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) drove to victory in the WRC2 class of the EKO Acropolis Rally ahead of Gus Greensmith (GBR) and Yohan Rossel (FRA).

Final results: Acropolis Rally, WRC2

1. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR) 3:09:57.7

2. Gus Greensmith (GBR) +10.33. Yohan Rossel (FRA) +1:26.0

4. Adrien Fourmaux (FRA) +2:16.15. Grégoire Munster (LUX) +2:34.76. Kajetan Kajetanowicz (POL) +2:54.8

7. Lauri Joona - Tuukka Shemeikka (FIN) +3:07.4

More information: Lauri Joona, 044 513 4251, lauri.joona@hotmail.fi