2003 Acropolis Rally

2003 Acropolis Rally
*50th Golden Acropolis Rally*
2003 Acropolis Rally; 50th Golden Acropolis Rally
Round 6 of the 2003 World Rally Championship season
← Previous event	Next event →
	Colin McRae and Derek Ringer's Citroen Xsara WRC
Host country	Greece
Rally base	Lamia
Dates run	June 6, 2003 – June 8, 2003
Stages	22 (399.49 km; 248.23 miles)
Stage surface	Gravel
Overall distance	1,441.37 km (895.63 miles)
Statistics
Crews	83 at start, 37 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner	Markko Märtin; Michael Park; Ford Motor Co. Ltd.; Ford Focus RS WRC '03

The 2003 Acropolis Rally (formally the 50th Golden Acropolis Rally) was the sixth round of the 2003 World Rally Championship. The race was held over three days between 6 June and 8 June 2003, and was based in Lamia, Greece. Ford's Markko Märtin won the race, his 1st win in the World Rally Championship.^[1]

Background[edit]

Entry list[edit]

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Tyre
World Rally Championship manufacturer entries
1	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	M
2	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	M
3	Harri Rovanperä	Risto Pietiläinen	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	M
4	Markko Märtin	Michael Park	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	M
5	François Duval	Stéphane Prévot	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	M
6	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '02	M
7	Petter Solberg	Phil Mills	555 Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	P
8	Tommi Mäkinen	Kaj Lindström	555 Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	P
10	Armin Schwarz	Manfred Hiemer	Hyundai World Rally Team	Hyundai Accent WRC3	M
11	Freddy Loix	Sven Smeets	Hyundai World Rally Team	Hyundai Accent WRC3	M
12	Jussi Välimäki	Tero Gardemeister	Hyundai World Rally Team	Hyundai Accent WRC3	M
14	Didier Auriol	Denis Giraudet	Škoda Motorsport	Škoda Octavia WRC Evo3	M
15	Toni Gardemeister	Paavo Lukander	Škoda Motorsport	Škoda Octavia WRC Evo3	M
17	Colin McRae	Derek Ringer	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	M
18	Sébastien Loeb	Daniel Elena	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	M
19	Carlos Sainz	Marc Martí	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	M
World Rally Championship entries
20	Jari-Matti Latvala	Carl Williamson	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '02	M
21	Gilles Panizzi	Hervé Panizzi	Bozian Racing	Peugeot 206 WRC	M
22	Roman Kresta	Miloš Hůlka	Bozian Racing	Peugeot 206 WRC	M
23	Antony Warmbold	Gemma Price	AW Rally Team	Ford Focus RS WRC '02	M
24	Juuso Pykälistö	Esko Mertsalmi	Bozian Racing	Peugeot 206 WRC	M
25	Daniel Solà	Álex Romaní	Citroën Sport	Citroën Xsara WRC	M
26	Manfred Stohl	Ilka Minor	Manfred Stohl	Hyundai Accent WRC3	M
32	Alistair Ginley	Rory Kennedy	Alistair Ginley	Ford Focus RS WRC '01	—
33	Tomasz Kuchar	Maciek Szczepaniak	Tomasz Kuchar	Ford Focus RS WRC '02	M
34	Armodios Vovos	Loris Meletopoulos	Armodios Vovos	Ford Focus RS WRC '01	—
35	Ioannis Papadimitriou	Allan Harryman	Ioannis Papadimitriou	Ford Focus RS WRC'01	P
101	Jozef Béreš Jr.	Petr Starý	Styllex Tuning Motorsport	Toyota Corolla WRC	—
JWRC entries
51	Mirco Baldacci	Giovanni Bernacchini	Purity Auto	Fiat Punto S1600	M
52	Daniel Carlsson	Matthias Andersson	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	M
54	Kosti Katajamäki	Miikka Anttila	Volkswagen Racing	Volkswagen Polo S1600	M
55	Martin Stenshorne	Clive Jenkins	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Puma S1600	M
57	Dimitar Iliev	Petar Sivov	Auto Sport Italia	Peugeot 206 S1600	M
58	Marcos Ligato	Rubén Garcia	Top Run SRL	Fiat Punto S1600	M
59	Beppo Harrach	Michael Kölbach	Astra Racing	Ford Puma S1600	M
61	Brice Tirabassi	Jacques-Julien Renucci	Renault Sport	Renault Clio S1600	M
62	Oscar Svedlund	Björn Nilsson	Volkswagen Racing	Volkswagen Polo S1600	M
63	Massimo Ceccato	Mitia Dotta	Top Run SRL	Fiat Punto S1600	M
64	Ville-Pertti Teuronen	Harri Kaapro	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	M
65	Abdo Feghali	Joseph Matar	Astra Racing	Ford Puma S1600	M
67	Alessandro Broccoli	Simona Girelli	Sab Motorsport	Opel Corsa S1600	M
69	Salvador Cañellas Jr.	Xavier Amigó	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	M
70	Guy Wilks	Phil Pugh	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Puma S1600	M
71	Urmo Aava	Kuldar Sikk	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	M
73	Krum Donchev	Ruman Manolov	Auto Sport Italia	Opel Corsa S1600	M
74	Kris Meeke	Chris Patterson	Opel Motorsport	Opel Corsa S1600	M
76	Luca Cecchettini	Marco Muzzarelli	Top Run SRL	Fiat Punto S1600	M
78	Vladan Vasiljevic	Sebastian Geipel	Volkswagen Racing	Volkswagen Polo S1600	M
Source:^[2]

Itinerary[edit]

All dates and times are EEST (UTC+3).

Date	Time	No.	Stage name	Distance
Leg 1 — 145.74 km
6 June	08:18	SS1	Pavliani 1	24.45 km
	09:07	SS2	Stromi 1	14.61 km
	10:10	SS3	Eleftherohori	18.67 km
	12:18	SS4	Rengini 1	11.84 km
	12:46	SS5	Elatia — Zeli 1	34.68 km
	15:37	SS6	Pavliani 2	24.45 km
	16:26	SS7	Stromi 2	14.61 km
	18:01	SS8	SSS Lilea — Parnassos 1	2.43 km
Leg 2 — 148.71 km
7 June	06:56	SS9	Mendenitsa	17.34 km
	08:21	SS10	Bauxites 1	23.45 km
	09:44	SS11	Drosohori 1	17.76 km
	12:17	SS12	Rengini 2	11.84 km
	12:45	SS13	Elatia — Zeli 2	34.68 km
	16:03	SS14	Bauxites 2	23.45 km
	17:26	SS15	Drosohori 2	17.76 km
	18:18	SS16	SSS Lilea — Parnassos 2	2.43 km
Leg 3 — 105.04 km
8 June	09:28	SS17	Dikastro 1	18.40 km
	10:06	SS18	New Tarzan 1	20.65 km
	11:04	SS19	Agios Stefanos 1	13.47 km
	13:32	SS20	Dikastro 2	18.40 km
	14:10	SS21	New Tarzan 2	20.65 km
	15:08	SS22	Agios Stefanos 2	13.47 km

Results[edit]

Overall[edit]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Team	Car	Time	Difference	Points
1	4	Markko Märtin	Michael Park	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	4:53:40.5		10
2	19	Carlos Sainz	Marc Martí	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	4:54:26.5	+46.0	8
3	7	Petter Solberg	Phil Mills	555 Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	4:54:33.2	+52.7	6
4	2	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	4:55:47.1	+2:06.6	5
5	8	Tommi Mäkinen	Kaj Lindström	555 Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	4:55:52.8	+2:12.3	4
6	3	Harri Rovanperä	Risto Pietiläinen	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	4:57:25.2	+3:44.7	3
7	21	Gilles Panizzi	Hervé Panizzi	Bozian Racing	Peugeot 206 WRC	4:57:34.8	+3:54.3	2
8	17	Colin McRae	Derek Ringer	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	4:57:45.5	+4:05.0	1

World Rally Cars[edit]

Classification[edit]

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
1	1	4	Markko Märtin	Michael Park	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	4:53:40.5		10
2	2	19	Carlos Sainz	Marc Martí	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	4:54:26.5	+46.0	8
3	3	7	Petter Solberg	Phil Mills	555 Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	4:54:33.2	+52.7	6
4	4	2	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	4:55:47.1	+2:06.6	5
5	5	8	Tommi Mäkinen	Kaj Lindström	555 Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	4:55:52.8	+2:12.3	4
6	6	3	Harri Rovanperä	Risto Pietiläinen	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	4:57:25.2	+3:44.7	3
8	7	17	Colin McRae	Derek Ringer	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	4:57:45.5	+4:05.0	1
9	8	14	Didier Auriol	Denis Giraudet	Škoda Motorsport	Škoda Octavia WRC Evo3	5:00:07.7	+6:27.2	0
Retired SS9		1	Marcus Grönholm	Timo Rautiainen	Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot 206 WRC	Fuel pump		0
Retired SS9		12	Jussi Välimäki	Tero Gardemeister	Hyundai World Rally Team	Hyundai Accent WRC3	Clutch		0
Retired SS6		6	Mikko Hirvonen	Jarmo Lehtinen	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '02	Suspension		0
Retired SS6		15	Toni Gardemeister	Paavo Lukander	Škoda Motorsport	Škoda Octavia WRC Evo3	Turbo		0
Retired SS5		5	François Duval	Stéphane Prévot	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	Accident		0
Retired SS3		11	Freddy Loix	Sven Smeets	Hyundai World Rally Team	Hyundai Accent WRC3	Suspension		0
Retired SS1		10	Armin Schwarz	Manfred Hiemer	Hyundai World Rally Team	Hyundai Accent WRC3	Alternator		0
Retired SS1		18	Sébastien Loeb	Daniel Elena	Citroën Total WRT	Citroën Xsara WRC	Engine		0

Special stages[edit]

Day	Stage	Stage name	Length	Winner	Car	Time	Class leaders
Leg 1 (6 Jun)	SS1	Pavliani 1	24.45 km	François Duval	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	19:54.7	François Duval
	SS2	Stromi 1	14.61 km	Markko Märtin	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	11:40.2	Markko Märtin
	SS3	Eleftherohori	18.67 km	Harri Rovanperä	Peugeot 206 WRC	11:28.2
	SS4	Rengini 1	11.84 km	Harri Rovanperä	Peugeot 206 WRC	8:41.8
	SS5	Elatia — Zeli 1	34.68 km	Harri Rovanperä	Peugeot 206 WRC	24:21.9
	SS6	Pavliani 2	24.45 km	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	19:29.5
	SS7	Stromi 2	14.61 km	Marcus Grönholm	Peugeot 206 WRC	11:25.6
	SS8	SSS Lilea — Parnassos 1	2.43 km	Stage cancelled
Leg 2 (7 Jun)	SS9	Mendenitsa	17.34 km	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	10:55.0
	SS10	Bauxites 1	23.45 km	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	14:14.8
	SS11	Drosohori 1	17.76 km	Markko Märtin	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	14:48.6
	SS12	Rengini 2	11.84 km	Harri Rovanperä	Peugeot 206 WRC	8:30.2
	SS13	Elatia — Zeli 2	34.68 km	Markko Märtin	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	23:44.2
	SS14	Bauxites 2	23.45 km	Markko Märtin	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	13:51.9
	SS15	Drosohori 2	17.76 km	Markko Märtin	Ford Focus RS WRC '03	14:23.6
	SS16	SSS Lilea — Parnassos 2	2.43 km	Carlos Sainz	Citroën Xsara WRC	1:57.6
Leg 3 (8 Jun)	SS17	Dikastro 1	18.40 km	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	16:08.7
	SS18	New Tarzan 1	20.65 km	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	15:27.8
	SS19	Agios Stefanos 1	13.47 km	Tommi Mäkinen	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	10:02.6
	SS20	Dikastro 2	18.40 km	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	15:58.3
	SS21	New Tarzan 2	20.65 km	Carlos Sainz	Citroën Xsara WRC	15:10.3
	SS22	Agios Stefanos 2	13.47 km	Petter Solberg	Subaru Impreza S9 WRC '03	9:46.7

Championship standings[edit]

Pos.	Drivers' championships			Co-drivers' championships			Manufacturers' championships
Pos.	Move	Driver	Points	Move	Co-driver	Points	Move	Manufacturer	Points
1		Richard Burns	37		Robert Reid	37		Marlboro Peugeot Total	73
2	2	Carlos Sainz	32	2	Marc Martí	32		Citroën Total WRT	62
3	1	Marcus Grönholm	30	1	Timo Rautiainen	30		Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	39
4	2	Markko Märtin	23	2	Michael Park	23		555 Subaru World Rally Team	37
5	1	Petter Solberg	19	1	Phil Mills	19		Škoda Motorsport	20

Junior World Rally Championship[edit]

Classification[edit]

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
17	1	61	Brice Tirabassi	Jacques-Julien Renucci	Renault Sport	Renault Clio S1600	5:27:34.0		10
18	2	52	Daniel Carlsson	Matthias Andersson	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	5:28:29.2	+55.2	8
19	3	71	Urmo Aava	Kuldar Sikk	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	5:35:02.7	+7:28.7	6
22	4	69	Salvador Cañellas Jr.	Xavier Amigó	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	5:40:55.2	+13:21.2	5
27	5	62	Oscar Svedlund	Björn Nilsson	Volkswagen Racing	Volkswagen Polo S1600	5:49:22.1	+21:48.1	4
33	6	70	Guy Wilks	Phil Pugh	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Puma S1600	6:04:08.1	+36:34.1	3
Retired SS21		51	Mirco Baldacci	Giovanni Bernacchini	Purity Auto	Fiat Punto S1600	Mechanical		0
Retired SS17		63	Massimo Ceccato	Mitia Dotta	Top Run SRL	Fiat Punto S1600	Engine		0
Retired SS17		76	Luca Cecchettini	Marco Muzzarelli	Top Run SRL	Fiat Punto S1600	Engine		0
Retired SS11		54	Kosti Katajamäki	Miikka Anttila	Volkswagen Racing	Volkswagen Polo S1600	Gearbox		0
Retired SS11		67	Alessandro Broccoli	Simona Girelli	Sab Motorsport	Opel Corsa S1600	Driveshaft		0
Retired SS10		55	Martin Stenshorne	Clive Jenkins	Ford Motor Co. Ltd.	Ford Puma S1600	Alternator		0
Retired SS7		64	Ville-Pertti Teuronen	Harri Kaapro	Suzuki Sport	Suzuki Ignis S1600	Driveshaft		0
Retired SS5		57	Dimitar Iliev	Petar Sivov	Auto Sport Italia	Peugeot 206 S1600	Engine		0
Retired SS5		73	Krum Donchev	Ruman Manolov	Auto Sport Italia	Opel Corsa S1600	Lost wheel		0
Retired SS4		65	Abdo Feghali	Joseph Matar	Astra Racing	Ford Puma S1600	Engine		0
Retired SS2		59	Beppo Harrach	Michael Kölbach	Astra Racing	Ford Puma S1600	Lost wheel		0
Retired SS1		58	Marcos Ligato	Rubén Garcia	Top Run SRL	Fiat Punto S1600	Steering		0
Retired SS1		74	Kris Meeke	Chris Patterson	Opel Motorsport	Opel Corsa S1600	Steering		0
Retired SS1		78	Vladan Vasiljevic	Sebastian Geipel	Volkswagen Racing	Volkswagen Polo S1600	Accident		0

Special stages[edit]

Day	Stage	Stage name	Length	Winner	Car	Time	Class leaders
Leg 1 (6 Jun)	SS1	Pavliani 1	24.45 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	21:50.4	Brice Tirabassi
	SS2	Stromi 1	14.61 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	12:57.0
	SS3	Eleftherohori	18.67 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	12:45.3
	SS4	Rengini 1	11.84 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	9:52.4
	SS5	Elatia — Zeli 1	34.68 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	27:17.5
	SS6	Pavliani 2	24.45 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	21:36.6
	SS7	Stromi 2	14.61 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	12:47.5
	SS8	SSS Lilea — Parnassos 1	2.43 km	Stage cancelled
Leg 2 (7 Jun)	SS9	Mendenitsa	17.34 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	12:30.5
	SS10	Bauxites 1	23.45 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	16:01.7
	SS11	Drosohori 1	17.76 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	16:28.7
	SS12	Rengini 2	11.84 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	9:45.0
	SS13	Elatia — Zeli 2	34.68 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	27:04.4
	SS14	Bauxites 2	23.45 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	15:39.6
	SS15	Drosohori 2	17.76	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	16:05.3
	SS16	SSS Lilea — Parnassos 2	2.43 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	2:08.9
Leg 3 (8 Jun)	SS17	Dikastro 1	18.40 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	17:59.8
	SS18	New Tarzan 1	20.65 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	16:58.0
	SS19	Agios Stefanos 1	13.47 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	11:04.8
	SS20	Dikastro 2	18.40 km	Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	17:47.0
	SS21	New Tarzan 2	20.65 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	16:51.6
	SS22	Agios Stefanos 2	13.47 km	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	10:56.4

Championship standings[edit]

Pos.	Drivers' championships
Pos.	Move	Driver	Points
1		Brice Tirabassi	20
2	2	Salvador Cañellas Jr.	13
3	4	Urmo Aava	11
4	2	Kosti Katajamäki	10
5	1	Guy Wilks	9

References[edit]

^ "Rally Acropolis". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
^ "Acropolis Rally 2003 Entry List". Retrieved 10 November 2021.

External links[edit]

Official website of the World Rally Championship

[2003-Acropolis-1] "Rally Acropolis". juwra.com. Independent WRC archive. Retrieved 2021-11-10.

[ardrivers_2003-2] "Acropolis Rally 2003 Entry List". Retrieved 10 November 2021.

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[2]