Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-05-25

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Acropolis Rally 2012 kicks off

[01] Acropolis Rally 2012 kicks off

The Acropolis Rally, dubbed the "Rally of Gods", is the sixth round of the 13-round 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC), and this year features 18 Special Stages (SS) and a Power Stage, which will be shown live on television.

According to the WRC, the Acropolis Rally is one of the most iconic events in the sport, and winning it earns significant kudos.amna

The ceremonial start took place at the historic Zappion on Thursday afternoon, and continues on Friday with nine stages around the Gulf of Corinth and Itea, while drivers have already had two days of "reconnaissance" on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Acropolis Rally winds up on Sunday in Loutraki, after moving to the Peloponnese on Saturday.

Many celebrated rally drivers have won the Acropolis Rally, including Walter Rohrl, Bjorn Waldegard, Ari Vatanen, Stig Blomqvist, Juha Kankkunen, Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae.

The WRC 2012 opened with the Monte Carlo rally in January, followed by Sweden in February, Mexico and Portugal in March, and Argentina in April.amna

The next stages after Greece will be New Zealand (June 22-24), Finland (August 2-4), Germany (August 24-26), Great Britain (September 13-16), France (October 4 to 7), Italy (October 18-21), and Spain (November 8-11).

The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) pits cars and drivers in a series of two, three or four-day events though some of the toughest, and most varied, conditions on the planet.amna

The roads on this epic motorsport adventure range from the ice and snow of Scandinavia to the stifling heat of Jordan - over surfaces including packed ice, smooth asphalt and boulder-strewn rocky tracks.

Unsurprisingly, the series is widely regarded as the most challenging motorsport competition in the world.amna

The competition itself is deceptively simple. Each rally is split into a number (typically between 15 and 25) of 'special stages' which are run on closed roads. Drivers tackle these stages one car at a time in an effort to complete them in the shortest time. Competitors drive to and from each special stage on normal roads, observing normal traffic regulations. During the special stages, a co-driver, or navigator, reads pace notes to alert the driver to the conditions on the road ahead.amna

The WRC is regulated and controlled by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body for worldwide motorsport. Most WRC rallies follow the same basic itinerary: two days of reconnaissance on Tuesday and Wednesday, to enable the driver and co-driver to check the route, and ‘shakedown' - in effect practice - on Thursday, followed by the competition itself on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some events also include ‘Super Special' stages - short and compact sprint tests which often feature two cars racing head-to-head.

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