FINAL CLASSIFICATIONS

WRC / OVERALL

4th: Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy

8th: Mārtiņš Sesks / Renārs Francis

20th: Jon Armstrong / Shane Byrne (SR)

32nd: Jourdan Serderidis / Frédéric Miclotte (SR)

RC2

22nd RC2 / 38th Overall: Romet Jürgenson / Siim Oja (SR)

EVENT SUMMARY

M-Sport delivered excellent results across a long, demanding weekend in Greece, from a Thursday night start in Athens and an overnight ferry into a gruelling Friday in the blazing heat, with only a remote service for respite.

The team held strong at Friday's midday point, Armstrong, McErlean and Sesks filling the top six in third, fifth and sixth to dominate both the leaderboard and the stage times. Third, fourth and fifth fastest on SS3, M-Sport's potential in the heat was clear.

After a memorable maiden stage win for Armstrong on SS5, disappointment struck that afternoon when a turbo issue forced him to retire from third.

Hope remained with McErlean, still fighting for the potential for his best WRC result on one of the season's toughest events. Through drama on Saturday and Sunday, he and Treacy held firm to leave Greece with a well-earned fourth place.

Armstrong and Sesks both showed impressive pace throughout, delivering strong performances despite their Friday and Saturday setbacks.

Jourdan Serderidis enjoyed his home rally, improving on his own pace as it went on, while Romet Jürgenson battled through opening-day disappointment to gain valuable experience and show genuine pace in Greece.

The team takes great confidence from meeting the Greek conditions head-on, and now looks ahead to the smoother, faster gravel of Estonia and Finland.

Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford Team Principal, said: "It's been an incredibly tough rally - a typical Greek adventure. The Acropolis is one of the hardest events for the team and the crews in the whole championship, and this edition was no exception. It's a long, tough itinerary, but there are some massive positives to take away. For Jon to take his maiden WRC stage win with the team in the Ford Puma Rally1 is a huge achievement for us all and something to be really proud of, and for Josh to claim his best-ever result here is even better. Fourth overall is an incredible achievement and he worked hard for it, driving through the conditions to show exactly what he can do - a huge congratulations to him and Eoin. After a tough but rewarding weekend in Greece, I'm really looking forward to the next few gravel events."

CREW SUMMARIES

FORD PUMA RALLY1

#55 Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy

McErlean went out firing on all cylinders, setting the tone for a standout weekend as the fastest M-Sport car on the rally’s first full stage on Friday morning. Fourth fastest behind Armstrong on SS3, he backed it up with another quick run to sit fifth overall heading into the remote service, just 8.5 seconds off Fourmaux.

The pace never let up - through the afternoon McErlean kept the pressure on, moving up a place after Armstrong’s retirement to cap off one of his finest days of the season in fourth overall.

Saturday morning opened in the best possible way, McErlean once again the fastest M-Sport car on SS10. He carried that rhythm through the morning into a thrilling afternoon battle for fourth with Fourmaux and Evans closing in behind as the day reached its climax. Then came the test of the weekend: a broken front right damper that threatened to undo all their hard work. McErlean and Treacy refused to let it slip away, pulling off a superb roadside repair to secure the damper and bring the car to the finish, a gritty effort that sums up their fight for their best-ever WRC result.

That final stage of the day was the most tense yet, but the repair held and the Irish pair came through unscathed. With Evans hit by a puncture, McErlean finished the day fifth overall, just one second behind Fourmaux in fourth. Four stages remained on Sunday morning, and the chase was well and truly on.

The breakthrough came when Fourmaux picked up a puncture on Sunday’s second stage, lifting McErlean to fourth overall with the French crew now over a minute adrift. But there was still drama to weather: after outbraking himself on a downhill two-thirds of the way through the stage, McErlean slid off the road and sat stuck for some 30 seconds before getting going again. Composed under pressure, he held firm in fourth, carrying a hard-earned advantage over Pajari and Fourmaux into the final Power Stage with everything to play for.

A determined run through the Power Stage, staying well in touch with a flying Pajari, saw them go eighth fastest and finally clinch their much-desired fourth overall result, a fantastic showing of McErlean and Treacy’s dedication and hard work throughout the season so far.

Josh McErlean, 4th overall, said: "It's been really important, I think, to get a result like this - for me and Eoin, and for the team. It's been a while since everyone's had a result, and it was obviously a very challenging weekend with the rocks, the puncture risk and everything that comes with that. We made it a little difficult for ourselves going into the last stage, sliding into the ditch on the previous one, then having to push to protect the position for the final stage. But we're very happy; it's the best result we've had so far."

#95 Jon Armstrong / Shane Byrne

Armstrong brought the energy on Friday morning, trading top-three stage times with front-runners of the calibre of Neuville and Ogier to launch himself into third overall before the day’s remote service. Refreshed after the midday halt, the Irish pair delivered a superb stage win on SS5 to consolidate their place on the podium.

The Greek conditions had other ideas. Two punctures, the first forcing a stop to change it, were followed by a loss of power that proved to be a turbo issue. After assessing the problem on the road section, the difficult call was made to retire for the day: a heartbreaking end given their pace and the result the weekend had promised.

There was no break in momentum, though. Armstrong and Byrne came out fresh on Saturday and, despite running first on the road, quickly found their rhythm again alongside teammates McErlean and Treacy as they set about clawing back the time lost on Friday.

A clean drive on Sunday saw the pair safely to the finish, working hard to claim back additional places to finish 20th overall.

Jon Armstrong, 20th overall, said: "So that's the Acropolis Rally finished. The first day went quite well to begin with - we made the most of our road position and got up to third overall with our first stage win. But then we had a technical issue and a couple of punctures, so we had to retire for the day. We spent the rest of the weekend road-sweeping, which was good learning, if a bit difficult after being on such a high the day before.

“There are still plenty of positives to take away, though - the pace we showed from that road position was really encouraging. We're looking forward to the fast gravel rallies now and seeing what we can do there. It was a tricky one, a case of what might have been, but that's how the Acropolis can be."

#22 Mārtiņš Sesks / Renārs Francis

Sesks made a strong start on Friday, staying right with McErlean and posting top-five stage times through the morning loop to build real confidence for the road ahead. That pace held into the afternoon, the Latvian keeping his teammate firmly in sight to close the day fifth overall, just 6.8 seconds adrift of McErlean.

Saturday proved harder to unlock. Something never quite clicked, and with the long morning loop demanding careful tyre management, Sesks slipped to seventh overall heading into midday service.

The afternoon also brought a fresh setback. An electrical issue discovered in service forced a late departure and a significant time penalty, dropping the crew away from McErlean and down to 11th for the final two stages of the day.

Sesks responded in the best way on Sunday morning, putting in a focused, measured drive with stage times close to Armstrong’s to climb two positions into ninth overall.

A clean run through the Power Stage, 4.5 seconds behind teammate McErlean, saw Sesks and Francis gain one more position to finish their weekend eighth overall.

Mārtiņš Sesks, 8th overall, said: “Overall I think the rally was okay, in the sense that we didn't make any big mistakes - maybe we were lacking a little pace on Saturday morning, but otherwise we did a decent job from our side. It was a shame about the issue in service, which cost us time, but the team made a great effort to keep us on track. Now I'm looking forward to the next rallies.”

#9 Jourdan Serderidis / Frédéric Miclotte

Serderidis caught eyes early with a fine display on the Athens Super Special stage on Thursday night, treating the crowd to a superb drift around the city stage to open his home-soil weekend in style.

It was a promising start to the rally, the Greek driver relishing the conditions, though a power steering problem on Friday afternoon slowed his pace. The pair made the decision to retire for the day during the afternoon loop, owing to a medical issue for Miclotte, but were able to rejoin the action on Saturday.

From there it was an enjoyable run to the finish, Serderidis savouring each moment with the passionate Greek fans lining the stages.

Jourdan Serderidis, 32nd overall, said: "We had a fun rally, with a wonderful itinerary and some super nice stages. Unfortunately, the mechanical issues we had prevented us from getting the result we'd hoped for. But we still had a very good run, a very good drive, and made good progress with our driving, so on that side we're quite happy. It's amazing to drive in front of all the Greek supporters. All in all, still a nice weekend."

FORD FIESTA RALLY2

#36 Romet Jürgenson / Siim Oja

The Estonian pair learnt the challenges of Acropolis Rally the hard way, striking a rock towards the end of Friday’s opening stage. With damaged suspension and neither the time nor the means to repair it out on the stage, they were forced to retire for the day and return to service early.

Saturday brought a much brighter start, Jürgenson going third in the RC2 category on the day’s opening test. A spin on SS10 cost him around 20 seconds, but his morning was otherwise impressively consistent, ending SS11 fourth fastest in RC2 and showing real progress on only his second visit to Greece. Stage mileage was limited in the afternoon by two stage cancellations, but the pair closed the day in good spirits and ready to attack Sunday.

Jürgenson showcased this growing confidence on Sunday, going third-fastest on the final day’s penultimate stage, and clocked a joint-second fastest time in RC2 on the Power Stage too; a fine way to round off a weekend of mixed fortune for the Estonian crew.

Romet Jürgenson, 22nd RC2, 38th Overall, said: "Obviously the mistake happened quite early on - that's squarely on me and it's unfortunate. But after that, on Saturday, we showed some decent pace and could improve on a few things. On the positive side, the pace was good on the first pass of the new stages, which is driven purely by pace notes, and I think that shows that side is decent. And today, second on the Power Stage as well - so there are these little positives to take. But overall I'm sorry for the team that I made the mistake. Next time we're in Estonia, so we'll go flat out there."