Sebastien Ogier has ended Sebastien Loeb’s run of victories in the world championship by winning the Acropolis Rally.
Ogier, whose last win in the WRC was on the Jordan Rally two months ago, got the better of his Citroen team-mate Loeb following a close battle, that raged up until the event-closing Power Stage. Loeb had won the previous two rounds in Argentina and Italy.
It was the third time this season that Ogier, the Junior world champion in 2008, and co-driver Julien Ingrassia have triumphed in the WRC and means that Citroen has now won the last six rounds of the series.
Loeb settled for second - and his 100th WRC podium - in the overall standings with title rival Mikko Hirvonen close behind in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.
Juho Hanninen clinched victory in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship category in his Red Bull Skoda Fabia.
Standings after SS18:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 4h04m44.3s |
| 02 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +10.5s |
| 03 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +13.5s |
| 04 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +38.8s |
| 05 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +5m24.7s |
| 06 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +6m54.7s |
| 07 | K. RAIKKONEN / K. LINDSTRÖM | Citroën DS3 WRC | +8m29.4s |
| 08 | J. HANNINEN / M. MARKKULA | Skoda Fabia S2000 | +11m34.7s |
| 09 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +13m08.8s |
| 10 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +15m10.1s |
| 11 | B. SOUSA / A. COSTA | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +16m29.3s |
| 12 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +17m17.4s |
| 13 | F. TURÁN / G. ZSIROS | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +17m52.0s |
| 14 | H. GASSNER JR / K. WUSTENHAGEN | Skoda Fabia S2000 | +18m43.4s |
| 15 | M. PROKOP / J. TOMÁNEK | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +20m33.1s |