2006 Acropolis Rally

Rally in Athens, Greece 2006 2006 Acropolis Rally 53rd Acropolis Rally 8 16 2006 World Rally Championship 2006 Rally d'Italia Sardegna 2006 Rallye Deutschland Xavier Pons - 2006 Acropolis Rally.jpg Xavier Pons during one of the super special stages Athens 1 4 June 2006 18 355.62 Itinerary BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 2006 https://www.ewrc-results.com/timetable/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210911133028/https://www.ewrc-results.com/timetable/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/ 2026-09-01 2021-09-11 923.67 1,279.29 Gravel FIN Marcus Grönholm FIN Timo Rautiainen GBR BP Ford World Rally Team 3:56:26.8 84 84 69 The 2006 Acropolis Rally was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 1 and 4 June 2006. It marked the 53rd running of the Acropolis Rally, and was the eight round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season.Shacki Season 2006 rally - eWRC-results https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/2006/ 2024-10-11 eWRC-results.com en The event was also the fourth round of the 2006 Production World Rally Championship. The 2006 event was based in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece and was contested over eighteen special stages, covering a total competitive distance of 355.62km (220.97 miles). Sebastien Loeb, along with Kronos Citroën World Rally Team were the defending rally winners, having won the previous five rallies in a row. Loeb lead championship rival Marcus Gronholm in the championship by 31 points coming into the weekend. Gronholm and co-driver Timo Rautiainen won the rally, their first win since the 2006 Swedish Rally and their third win of the season.Shacki Final results BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 2006 https://www.ewrc-results.com/final/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/ 2024-10-11 eWRC-results.com en Background Entry list The following crews were set to enter the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship and its support category, the Production World Rally Championship, as well as privateer entries that were not registered to score points in the manufacturer's championship. Twenty two were entered under World Rally Car regulations, as were fifteen in the Production WRC category.Shacki Entry list BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 2006 https://www.ewrc-results.com/entries/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/ 2024-10-11 eWRC-results.com en +World Rally Car entries competing in the World Rally Championship No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 1 FRA Sebastien Loeb MON Daniel Elena BEL Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC BF Goodrich 2 SPA Xavier Pons SPA Carlos del Barrio BEL Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC BF Goodrich 3 FIN Marcus Gronholm FIN Timo Rautiainen GBR BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF Goodrich 4 FIN Mikko Hirvonen FIN Jarmo Lehtinen GBR BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF Goodrich 5 NOR Petter Solberg GBR Phil Mills JPN Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 Pirelli 6 AUS Chris Atkinson AUS Glenn Macneall JPN Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 Pirelli 7 AUT Manfred Stohl AUT Ilka Minor NOR OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC BF Goodrich 8 NOR Henning Solberg NOR Cato Menkerud NOR OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC BF Goodrich 9 GBR Matthew Wilson GBR Michael Orr GBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF Goodrich 10 FIN Kosti Katajamäki FIN Timo Alanne GBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 BF Goodrich 11 FIN Harri Rovanperä FIN Risto Pietiläinen AUT Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC BF Goodrich 12 AUT Andreas Aigner GER Klaus Wicha AUT Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC BF Goodrich +Group N entries competing in the Production WRC No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car 31 JPN Toshihiro Arai NZL Tony Sircombe JPN Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STI 32 ARG Marcos Ligato ARG Rubén García ARG Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 34 ARG Sebastián Beltran CHL Ricardo Rojas ARG Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 35 ARG Gabriel Pozzo ARG Daniel Stillo ARG Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 36 SMR Mirco Baldacci ITA Giovanni Agnese FRA Mitsubishi Paris West Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 37 FIN Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Miikka Anttila ITA Motoring Club Subaru Impreza WRX STI 38 POL Leszek Kuzaj POL Maciej Szczepaniak JPN Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 39 QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah GBR Chris Patterson QAT QMMF Subaru Impreza WRX STI 40 ITA Stefano Marrini ITA Sandroni Tiziana ITA Errani Team Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 41 JPN Takuma Kamada JPN Hakaru Ichino JPN Subaru Team Quasys Subaru Impreza WRX STI 42 RUS Sergey Uspenskiy RUS Dmitriy Eremeev RUS Subaru Rally Team Russia Subaru Impreza WRX STI 43 SVN Andrej Jereb SVN Miran Kacin LAT OMV CEE World Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 45 FIN Aki Teiskonen FIN Miika Teiskonen JPN Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 46 GBR Nigel Heath GBR Steve Lancaster GBR PSM Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STI 60 GRE Dimitris Nassoulas GRE Mihalis Patrikoussis GRE Eko Racing Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII +Other major entries No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car 14 SPA Dani Sordo SPA Marc Martí BEL Kronos Racing Citroën Xsara WRC 16 FIN Toni Gardemeister FIN Jakke Honkanen ITA Astra Racing Citroën Xsara WRC 17 CZE Jan Kopecký CZE Filip Schovánek CZE Czech RT Škoda Kopecký Škoda Fabia WRC 18 BEL François Duval FRA Patrick Pivato BEL First Motorsport Škoda Škoda Fabia WRC 19 GRE Armodios Vovos GRE El-Em GRE Armodios Vovos Subaru Impreza S11 WRC 05 20 FIN Jussi Välimäki FIN Jarkko Kalliolepo GBR MMSP LTD Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05 66 GRE Konstantinos Apostolou GRE Kriadis Mihalis GRE Konstantinos Apostolou Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 67 GRE Manos Stefanis GRE Konstantinos Stafanis GRE Manos Stefanis Ford Focus WRC 02 78 GRE Kirkos Junior GRE Ioannis Sengos GRE Kirkos Junior Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 96 GRE Dionissis Gazetas GRE Athanasios Papageorgiou GRE Dionissis Gazetas Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII Itinerary All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2). Date No. Time span Stage name Distance 1 June — After 8:00 Amigdaleza [Shakedown] 4.40 km SS1 After 18:00 Athens Olympic Stadium 1 2.80 km 2 June 15px 8:00 Service A, Athens SS2 After 8:38 Imittos 1 11.44 km SS3 After 9:56 Skourta 1 23.80 km SS4 After 11:14 Thiva 1 23.76 km 15px 13:22 Service B, Athens SS5 After 14:20 Imittos 2 11.44 km SS6 After 15:38 Skourta 2 23.76 km SS7 After 16:52 Thiva 2 23.76 km 15px 18:46 Service C, Athens 3 June 15px 8:00 Service D, Athens SS8 After 8:57 Mandra 1 12.60 km SS9 After 9:50 Kineta 1 37.33 km SS10 After 11:13 Psatha 1 17.41 km 15px 12:51 Service E, Athens SS11 After 14:08 Mandra 2 12.60 km SS12 After 15:01 Kineta 2 37.33 km SS13 After 16:24 Psatha 2 17.41 km 15px 17:44 Service F, Athens 4 June 15px 6:40 Service G, Athens SS14 After 7:47 Avlonas 1 23.90 km SS15 After 8:55 Agia Sotira 1 24.77 km 15px 10:08 Service H, Athens SS16 After 11:35 Avlonas 2 23.90 km SS17 After 12:43 Agia Sotira 2 24.77 km 15px 13:46 Service I, Athens SS18 After 14:15 Athens Olympic Stadium 2 2.80 km Source:Itinerary BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 2006 https://www.ewrc-results.com/timetable/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210911133028/https://www.ewrc-results.com/timetable/8-bp-ultimate-acropolis-rally-of-greece-2006/ 2026-09-01 2021-09-11 Report Overall Summary Petter Solberg would win the shakedown on thursday, beginning what would be his 100th world rally.Solberg tops Acropolis shakedown https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/solberg-tops-acropolis-shakedown-4401871/4401871/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com But it would be Loeb that won the first stage of the rally, a short super special stage inside of the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Gronholn would end up second, while shakedown winner Solberg would end up thirteenth on the opening day.Loeb takes early Acropolis lead https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/loeb-takes-early-acropolis-lead-4401840/4401840/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com Friday would be a display of absolute dominance by Gronholm, who won every single stage of the day. Petter Solberg would manage to end the day ahead of Loeb despite experiencing three punctures in the morning. Petter's brother Henning would suffer a tyre blow-out at high speed, dropping him to seventh overall, while Chris Atkinson was struck with a front differential issue, rendering his morning ruined.Gronholm pulls away in Greece https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-pulls-away-in-greece-4401842/4401842/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com The afternoon section of the leg would be less chaotic, with Hirvonen ending the day in fourth ahead of the surprisingly quick Duval. Gardemeister would drop to eighth after hitting a rock and experiencing shoulder pain in stage seven, handing sixth to Stohl.Gronholm dominates leg one https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-dominates-leg-one-4401813/4401813/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com Saturday would entail a closer battle between Gronholm and Loeb; Gronholm would win four of the day's six stages, but crucially, Loeb would win the longest stage of the rally twice, limiting the damage and finishing the day within two minutes of the leader. Despite being second, a puncture resulting in heavy damage in the last stage of the day raised concerns that Loeb wouldn't be able to continue.Loeb closes in on Gronholm https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/loeb-closes-in-on-gronholm-4401824/4401824/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.comLoeb fears damage is too severe https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/loeb-fears-damage-is-too-severe-4403799/4403799/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com Henning Solberg would lose much of his braking power, but still set a competitive third fastest time in stage ten. Petter Solberg, meanwhile, would be forced to retire after crashing on the road section between stages twelve and thirteen. This would promote Hirvonen to third overall.Gronholm moves clear in Greece https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-moves-clear-in-greece-4403793/4403793/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com On Sunday, Gronholm would extend his lead over Loeb despite overall driving cautiously to avoid a retirement on the rough Greek stages. It would be a recovering Petter Solberg who won all but the super special stage on the day, recovering to an impressive seventh after restarting in ninth. Loeb would not risk anything, continuing to fall behind Gronholm in order to protect his second place, which he successfully maintained. The tight battle for fourth would be interrupted by Stohl retiring after a roll and Sordo losing a minute with an engine issue.Gronholm extends lead further https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-extends-lead-further-4403772/4403772/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com This would hand fourth in the rally to Gardemeister. Henning Solberg held fifth by under a second from the charging Sordo. After an impressive start, Duval would retire on Saturday to finish thirteenth overall.Gronholm clinches dominant win https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/gronholm-clinches-dominant-win-4403777/4403777/ 2026-09-01 www.autosport.com Classification Position No. Car number Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Difference Time difference to class winner Points Event Class 1 1 3 FIN Marcus Gronholm FIN Timo Rautiainen GBR BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 3:56:26.8 0.0 10 2 2 1 FRA Sebastien Loeb MON Daniel Elena BEL Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC 3:58:53.6 +2:26.8 8 3 34 FIN Mikko Hirvonen FIN Jarmo Lehtinen GBR BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:00:10.6 +3:43.8 6 4 4 16 FIN Toni Gardemeister FIN Jakke Honkanen ITA Astra Racing Citroën Xsara WRC 4:00:47.6 +4:20.8 5 5 5 8 NOR Henning Solberg NOR Cato Menkerud NOR OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC 4:01:22.4 +4:55.6 4 6 6 14 SPA Dani Sordo SPA Marc Martí BEL Kronos Racing Citroën Xsara WRC 4:01:23.2 +4:56.4 3 7 7 5 NOR Petter Solberg GBR Phil Mills JPN Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 4:02:01.2 +5:34.4 2 8 8 2 SPA Xavier Pons SPA Carlos del Barrio BEL Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC 4:04:45.8 +8:19.0 1 9 9 20 FIN Jussi Välimäki FIN Jarkko Kalliolepo GBR MMSP LTD Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05 4:07:55.5 +11:28.7 0 10 10 9 GBR Matthew Wilson GBR Michael Orr GBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:09:57.6 +13:30.8 0 11 11 6 AUS Chris Atkinson AUS Glenn Macneall JPN Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 4:10:28.6 +14:01.8 0 12 12 11 FIN Harri Rovanperä FIN Risto Pietiläinen AUT Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC 4:11:02.4 +14:35.6 0 13 13 18 BEL François Duval FRA Patrick Pivato BEL First Motorsport Škoda Škoda Fabia WRC 4:14:31.2 +18:04.4 0 14 14 12 AUT Andreas Aigner GER Klaus Wicha AUT Red Bull Škoda Team Škoda Fabia WRC 4:17:17.7 +20:50.9 0 15 15 19 GRE Armodios Vovos GRE "El-Em" GRE Armodios Vovos Subaru Impreza S11 WRC 05 4:23:17.1 +26:50.3 0 16 16 17 CZE Jan Kopecký CZE Filip Schovánek CZE Czech RT Škoda Kopecký Škoda Fabia WRC 4:24:45.6 +28:18.8 0 26 17 10 FIN Kosti Katajamäki FIN Timo Alanne GBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:44:03.2 +47:36.4 0 49 18 96 GRE Dionissis Gazetas GRE Athanasios Papageorgiou GRE Dionissis Gazetas Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 5:38:38.9 +1:42:12.1 0 55 19 78 GRE "Kirkos Junior" GRE Ioannis Sengos GRE "Kirkos Junior" Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 5:55:23.1 +1:58:56.3 0 Retired SS14 7 AUT Manfred Stohl AUT Ilka Minor NOR OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC Accident 0 Retired SS11 67 GRE Manos Stefanis GRE Konstantinos Stafanis GRE Manos Stefanis Ford Focus WRC 02 Fire 0 Retired SS8 66 GRE Konstantinos Apostolou GRE Kriadis Mihalis GRE Konstantinos Apostolou Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Axle 0 Special Stages All dates and times are EEST (UTC+3). DayStageTimeNameLength (km)WinnerTimeRally leader 1(1/2 June) SS1 18:00 Athens Olympic Stadium 1 2.79 FRA Sébastien Loeb 2:21.4 FRA Sébastien Loeb SS2 8:38 Imittos 1 11.43 FIN Marcus Grönholm 7:03.3 FIN Marcus Grönholm SS3 9:56 Skourta 1 23.79 FIN Marcus Grönholm 14:40.1 SS4 11:14 Thiva 1 23.76 FIN Marcus Grönholm 17:16.9 SS5 14:20 Imittos 2 11.43 FIN Marcus Grönholm 6:58.3 SS6 15:38 Skourta 2 23.79 FIN Marcus Grönholm 14:29.6 SS7 16:56 Thiva 2 23.76 FIN Marcus Grönholm 16:54.1 2(3 June) SS8 8:57 Mandra 1 12.6 FIN Marcus Grönholm 8:50.7 SS9 9:50 Kineta 1 37.33 FRA Sébastien Loeb 25:39.1 SS10 11:13 Psatha 1 17.4 FIN Marcus Grönholm 11:21.3 SS11 14:08 Mandra 2 12.6 FIN Marcus Grönholm 8:43.1 SS12 15:01 Kineta 2 37.33 FRA Sébastien Loeb 25:20.2 SS13 16:24 Psatha 2 17.4 FIN Marcus Grönholm 11:23.6 3(4 June) SS14 7:47 Avlonas 1 23.89 NOR Petter Solberg 14:07.2 SS15 8:55 Agia Sotira 1 24.77 NOR Petter Solberg 17:02.0 SS16 11:35 Avlonas 2 23.89 NOR Petter Solberg 14:00.6 SS17 12:43 Agia Sotira 2 24.77 NOR Petter Solberg 16:49.6 SS18 14:15 Athens Olympic Stadium 2 2.79 FIN Marcus Grönholm 2:21.7 Championship Standings Pos. Position Drivers' Championship Manufacturers' ChampionshipMoveDriverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 10px FRA Sébastien Loeb 74 10px BEL Kronos Citroën World Rally Team 96 2 10px FIN Marcus Gronholm 45 10px GBR BP Ford World Rally Team 81 3 10px ESP Dani Sordo 33 10px JPN Subaru World Rally Team 63 4 10px 2 FIN Mikko Hirvonen 21 10px NOR OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team 41 5 10px 1 AUT Manfred Stohl 20 10px GBR Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 17 Production WRC Classification Position No. Car number Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Difference Time difference to class winner Points Event Class 17 1 39 QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah GBR Chris Patterson QAT QMMF Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:28:43.3 0.0 10 18 2 35 ARG Gabriel Pozzo ARG Daniel Stillo ARG Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:28:55.3 +12.0 8 19 3 45 FIN Aki Teiskonen FIN Miika Teiskonen JPN Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 3:46:19.0 +1:01.2 6 20 4 36 SMR Mirco Baldacci ITA Giovanni Agnese FRA Mitsubishi Paris West Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:32:37.4 +3:54.1 5 21 5 31 JPN Toshihiro Arai NZL Tony Sircombe JPN Subaru Team Arai Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:33:37.7 +5:54.4 4 22 6 37 FIN Jari-Matti Latvala FIN Miikka Anttila ITA Motoring Club Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:36:11.2 +7:27.9 3 24 7 32 ARG Marcos Ligato ARG Rubén García ARG Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:41:48.2 +13:04.9 2 27 8 40 ITA Stefano Marrini ITA Sandroni Tiziana ITA Errani Team Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:44:58.3 +16:15.0 1 29 9 42 RUS Sergey Uspenskiy RUS Dmitriy Eremeev RUS Subaru Rally Team Russia Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:49:35.8 +20:52.5 0 30 10 34 ARG Sebastián Beltran CHL Ricardo Rojas ARG Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:52:02.5 +23:19.2 0 32 11 46 GBR Nigel Heath GBR Steve Lancaster GBR PSM Motorsport Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:58:07.0 +29:23.7 0 33 12 41 JPN Takuma Kamada JPN Hakaru Ichino JPN Subaru Team Quasys Subaru Impreza WRX STI 5:03:11.2 +34:27.9 0 37 13 43 SVN Andrej Jereb SVN Miran Kacin LAT OMV CEE World Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 5:10:08.6 +41:25.3 0 44 14 60 GRE Dimitris Nassoulas GRE Mihalis Patrikoussis GRE Eko Racing Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII 5:21:50.1 +53:06.8 0 Retired SS4 38 POL Leszek Kuzaj POL Maciej Szczepaniak JPN Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI Accident 0 Championship Standings Pos. Position Drivers' Championship MoveDriverPoints 1 10px QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah 34 2 10px 1 SMR Mirco Baldacci 17 3 10px 1 JPN Toshihiro Arai 15 4 10px 2 POL Leszek Kuzaj 13 5 10px JPN Fumio Nutahara 10 References External links Results at eWRC.com Results at Jonkka's World Rally Archive Maps at Rally Maps.com Acropolis Rally, 2006 Category:Acropolis Rally Acropolis