Ott Tänak returned to the top step of the podium in the World Rally Championship , ending an eight-month drought. And he did it in the most dramatic way possible, taking a tough EKO Acropolis Rally Greece made even more extreme by scorching heat, punctured chains and, for the Estonian, a technical twist on the final stage.

Tänak had not won since last autumn in Central Europe and this time he showed all his experience: after taking the lead on Friday, he coolly managed Saturday and showed up on Sunday with a sufficient margin to control.

But the Greek Sunday does not forgive anyone. During the final Power Stage , the transmission of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 began to make sinister noises: the third gear practically disintegrated and, shortly thereafter, the entire gearbox threatened to abandon Tänak and his trusted co-driver Martin Järveoja just a few kilometers from their dream.

“I was very worried during the stage. First I realized that the third gear was very noisy, then I realized that it had broken. At first the other gears were clean, but soon the whole gearbox became noisy,”
Tänak said.

In the end, despite the stage victory going to Sébastien Ogier , Tänak crossed the finish line with a lead of more than 30 seconds over the Frenchman, celebrating with great caution.

“We didn’t have the confidence to finish the stage anymore, but we finished it. We didn’t even have the confidence to get to the service park anymore. Winning like that was just too stressful,”
the Estonian admitted.

The key to his success, in addition to his proverbial mental strength, was the perfect strategy built together with the Hyundai team: maximum attention to tyre management, a controlled pace on the most destructive stages and attacks only in sections where the risk of damage was minimal.

“The strategy was clear: keeping air in the tyres was the priority. Then we had to manage wear. We only pushed where the ground was smooth and the risk low. That was the key for the weekend,”
Tänak explained.

Despite the intense heat – with cabin temperatures well above 40°C – and unforgiving terrain, Tänak once again demonstrated his ability to perfectly balance speed and conservation. A quality that puts him fully back in the running for the title after a first part of the season marked by ups and downs and technical problems with the Hyundai.

The tension, however, remained sky-high until the last meter. After the Power Stage, Tänak and Järveoja had to pray that the transmission would hold up even on the return transfer to the service park in Lamia. A thrill that made a hard-fought victory even sweeter, deserved and celebrated as a breath of fresh air for the entire team.

With this win, Tänak is back in the championship fight, while Hyundai enjoys a return to victory on the legendary Acropolis. The next round could already turn into another last-second battle, but one thing is for sure: with Tänak in this condition, it will be even tougher for everyone else.

Now a few days of rest and then the Hyundai crew number 8 will return to work with tests in preparation for Estonia and Finland, two congenial stages that could further relaunch the world championship ambitions.

Foto: RedBull Content Pool