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Loutraki, 29th March 2014 – At the end of the first day of the Acropolis Rally in Greece, ŠKODA is in the running for a podium finish. The works pair Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) finished the first half of the third race of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) season in fourth in their Fabia Super 2000.

23-year-old Lappi was pleased with his fourth place on Saturday, which saw the participants take on 124.62 kilometres of asphalt. "We knew before the rally started that the first day on asphalt wouldn't be easy. Frequently changing grip conditions made it hard to find a good balance," said the Finn, who is 28.8 seconds behind third place in the overall standings. "I'm looking forward to the gravel stages on Sunday. I've got my eye on the podium."

Fellow ŠKODA drivers Sepp Wiegand and Frank Christian (D/D) from the team ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland on the other hand dropped out after sliding on the fourth special stage while they were in fifth. "Unfortunately, after my slip I damaged the right-rear suspension," said Wiegand. "It's a bitter pill to swallow as I was doing well up to that point and had a very fast car. My thanks goes out to the entire ŠKODA team who repaired my Fabia Super 2000 so that I can get back out there again on Sunday. Let's see what we can do on gravel."

The second half of the classic Greek rally will, unlike the start on Saturday, mainly be driven on gravel. 114.22 kilometres have to be covered in seven special stages, including a brief 1.18 kilometre super special stage after lunch. After a total of 238.84 kilometres split across two days around the rally centre in Loutraki, the winners of the 60th Acropolis Rally will roll over the ramp.

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