# 2009 Acropolis Rally

The 2009 Acropolis Rally of Greece was the 56th running of the Acropolis Rally and the seventh round of the 2009 World Rally Championship season. The rally consisted of 17 special stages. Ford's Mikko Hirvonen took his first win of the season and Citroën Junior Team's Sébastien Ogier his first-ever podium position. Hirvonen's teammate Jari-Matti Latvala climbed back to third place after going off the road and dropping from first to 11th place on the first day.
Citroën's championship leader Sébastien Loeb crashed out from third place, and Dani Sordo broke his suspension while running second, right behind Hirvonen. Stobart M-Sport Ford's fifth-placed driver Henning Solberg crashed into the same rock as Sordo and also retired. Petter Solberg found himself Hirvonen's main challenger for the win, but also had to retire with a broken suspension.
With mechanical problems for Mads Østberg and Evgeny Novikov, who took his first-ever stage win in the event, Federico Villagra finished fourth, Conrad Rautenbach fifth and Khalid al-Qassimi sixth, which marked his career-best result. Østberg climbed back into the points on the last stage. Home country's Lambros Athanassoulas edged out Nasser Al-Attiyah to win the Production World Rally Championship category, and also collected a WRC point for eighth place overall.

## Results

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| WRC |||||||
| 1 | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 4:09:42.5 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2 | Sébastien Ogier | Julien Ingrassia | Citroën C4 WRC | 4:10:55.4 | 1:12.9 | 8 |
| 3 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Ford Focus RS WRC 09 | 4:11:27.5 | 1:45.0 | 6 |
| 4 | Federico Villagra | José Díaz | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 4:13:30.8 | 3:48.3 | 5 |
| 5 | Conrad Rautenbach | Daniel Barritt | Citroën C4 WRC | 4:13:42.3 | 3:59.8 | 4 |
| 6 | Khalid al-Qassimi | Michael Orr | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 4:16:46.8 | 7:04.3 | 3 |
| 7 | Mads Østberg | Jonas Andersson | Subaru Impreza WRC 2008 | 4:22:07.4 | 12:24.9 | 2 |
| 8 | Lambros Athanassoulas | Nikolaos Zakheos | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 4:22:30.1 | 12:47.6 | 1 |
| PWRC |||||||
| 1 | Lambros Athanassoulas | Nikolaos Zakheos | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 4:22:30.1 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Giovanni Bernacchini | Subaru Impreza WRX STi N14 | 4:22:52.4 | 22.3 | 8 |
| 3 | Armindo Araújo | Miguel Ramalho | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 4:24:47.0 | 2:16.9 | 6 |
| 4 | Toshi Arai | Glenn MacNeall | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 4:25:45.0 | 3:14.9 | 5 |
| 5 | Martin Prokop | Jan Tománek | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 4:28:28.9 | 5:58.8 | 4 |
| 6 | Bernardo Sousa | Jorge Carvalho | Fiat Grande Punto S2000 | 4:31:49.6 | 9:19.5 | 3 |
| 7 | Andis Neiksans | Peteris Dzirkals | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | 4:32:02.6 | 9:32.5 | 2 |
| 8 | Patrik Flodin | Göran Bergsten | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 4:37:28.8 | 14:58.7 | 1 |

## Special stages

| Day | Stage | Time (EEST) | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Rally leader |
| 1 (12 June) | SS1 | 8:48 | Harvati | 25 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 18:18.9 | Jari-Matti Latvala |
| 1 (12 June) | SS2 | 10:21 | Thiva 1 | 23.76 km | Dani Sordo | 17:00.6 | Jari-Matti Latvala |
| 1 (12 June) | SS3 | 11:44 | Evangelistria | 21.03 km | Stage cancelled | -:-.- | Jari-Matti Latvala |
| 1 (12 June) | SS4 | 14:02 | Bauxites | 23.17 km | Evgeny Novikov | 14:39.8 | Jari-Matti Latvala |
| 1 (12 June) | SS5 | 14:56 | Drossohori | 23.68 km | Sébastien Ogier | 19:41.9 | Jari-Matti Latvala |
| 1 (12 June) | SS6 | 17:13 | Thiva 2 | 23.76 km | Mikko Hirvonen | 16:59.5 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 2 (13 June) | SS7 | 9:32 | Klenia Mycenae 1 | 17.25 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 11:36.0 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 2 (13 June) | SS8 | 10:35 | Ghymno 1 | 26.28 km | Evgeny Novikov | 19:03.6 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 2 (13 June) | SS9 | 11:50 | Kefelari 1 | 24.15 km | Mikko Hirvonen Petter Solberg | 19:32.8 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 2 (13 June) | SS10 | 14:50 | Klenia Mycenae 2 | 17.25 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 11:21.8 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 2 (13 June) | SS11 | 15:53 | Ghymno 2 | 26.28 km | Evgeny Novikov | 18:51.2 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 2 (13 June) | SS12 | 17:08 | Kefelari 2 | 24.15 km | Evgeny Novikov | 19:10.1 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 3 (14 June) | SS13 | 9:33 | Loutraki 1 | 8.98 km | Mads Østberg | 7:38.2 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 3 (14 June) | SS14 | 10:07 | Aghii Theodori 1 | 33 km | Henning Solberg | 22:43.2 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 3 (14 June) | SS15 | 10:55 | New Pissia | 11.3 km | Matthew Wilson | 8:16.2 | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 3 (14 June) | SS16 | 12:51 | Loutraki 2 | 8.98 km | Stage cancelled | -:-.- | Mikko Hirvonen |
| 3 (14 June) | SS17 | 13:25 | Aghii Theodori 2 | 33 km | Jari-Matti Latvala | 22:14.2 | Mikko Hirvonen |

## Championship standings after the event
### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | IRL | NOR | CYP | POR | ARG | ITA | GRC | POL | FIN | AUS | ESP | GBR | Pts |
| 1 | Sébastien Loeb | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | Ret | | | | | | 55 |
| 2 | Mikko Hirvonen | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 2 | 1 | | | | | | 48 |
| 3 | Dani Sordo | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 12 | | | | | | 31 |
| 4 | Jari-Matti Latvala | 14 | 3 | 12 | Ret | 6 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | 25 |
| 5 | Henning Solberg | 4 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 15 | | | | | | 21 |
| 6 | Petter Solberg | | 6 | 3 | 4 | Ret | 3 | Ret | | | | | | 20 |
| 7 | Matthew Wilson | 7 | 7 | 5 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 14 | | | | | | 15 |
| 8 | Federico Villagra | | | 7 | 7 | 4 | Ret | 4 | | | | | | 14 |
| 9 | Sébastien Ogier | 6 | 10 | Ret | 17 | 7 | Ret | 2 | | | | | | 13 |
| 10 | Mads Østberg | | 9 | | 6 | | 7 | 7 | | | | | | 7 |
| 10 | Conrad Rautenbach | 18 | Ret | 6 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 5 | | | | | | 7 |
| 12 | Khalid al-Qassimi | 8 | | 8 | 8 | | 16 | 6 | | | | | | 6 |
| 13 | Evgeny Novikov | | 12 | Ret | Ret | | 5 | 16 | | | | | | 4 |
| 13 | Chris Atkinson | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 15 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | | | 11 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 9 | | | | | | 1 |
| 15 | Urmo Aava | 10 | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 15 | Lambros Athanassoulas | | | | | | | 8 | | | | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | IRL | NOR | CYP | POR | ARG | ITA | GRC | POL | FIN | AUS | ESP | GBR | Pts |
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

| Pos | Team | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Total points |
| Pos | Team | IRL | NOR | CYP | POR | ARG | ITA | GRC | POL | FIN | AUS | ESP | GBR | Total points |
| 1 | Citroën Total World Rally Team | 18 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 4 | | | | | | 94 |
| 2 | BP Ford World Rally Team | 8 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 18 | | | | | | 79 |
| 3 | Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 5 | | | | | | 49 |
| 4 | Citroën Junior Team | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | 25 |
| 5 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6 | | | | | | 18 |