Acropolis Rally Greece, otherwise known as the Rally of the Gods is making its way to Assetto Corsa Rally as part of Update 0.5. Here is why we are excited for the title's next addition.
In case you missed it last week, Supernova Games has officially confirmed the rumours that Acropolis Rally Greece is coming to Assetto Corsa Rally as part of the early access title's next update. Following on from Monte Carlo earlier in the year, this marks the fourth location for the fledging game and adds to the growing list of reasons rally fans should be getting excited.
A fast, flowing gravel rally renowned around the world, it is truly one of the greatest locations on the current calendar and that, for one main reason: it is famously harsh. Rapid roads on loose surfaces are lined by trees, fans and most dangerous of all, rocks. All that leads to a thrilling battle of driver and machine fighting to not only set the fastest time, but simply survive to the end.
If you wanted proof of the rally's tough nature, here are some of our favourite moments from the rally's history to show why time trial specialists in ACR may well have a tough time when update 0.5 finally releases.
2009 - Solberg & Sordo Find the Ditch
If you want to know just how treacherous the stones flanking each Rally Greece stage can be, this one incident is the best example we could find. It is 2009, at the peak of Sebastien Loeb's domination of the sport and every other competitor is eager to show they can take on the mighty Frenchman.
In arguably his best year at the top of the sport following a string of points finishes and a podium in Argentina, Henning Solberg was running behind Dani Sordo in the road order until disaster struck on Stage 9.
The Spaniard ahead, who was also fighting for all his worth to claim a top result, cut a corner just that little bit too much. On the inside of the corner was, you guessed it, an immovable rock hidden within the dust. Not only did Sordo's Citroen suffer a great deal of damage from the hit, it also found itself flying to the opposite side of the road, into the ditch leaving both Sordo and co-driver Marc Marti stranded.
Hot on their heels, Petter Solberg got held up by a flying yellow flag warning the racer of impending danger. The same could not be said for his older brother who flew through the same section, cut the same corner, hit the same rock and followed the same path as Dani Sordo. Luckily, the Norwegian's Ford failed to make contact with the stranded Citroen but that didn't stop Henning from voicing his frustrations at the team blocking the road - not that he could have gone much further with the damage incurred anyway.
Neither car would make it any further showing just how damaging a slight mis-judgement can be on the dusty cliffs of Rally Greece.
2002 - Rolling Repairs at Rally Greece
That was not the only time a Solberg found strife at the so-called Rally of the Gods. In 2002, whilst behind the wheel of his glorious bugeye Subaru Impreza draped in 555 blue colours, Henning's brother and future World Champion, Petter Solberg found himself with a problem some sim racers may have experience with: delayed inputs.
Part-way through the eighth stage of the event, onboard cameras showed the at-the-time championship-less driver man-handling a wobbling wheel. Indeed, the centre nut had begun to come loose, meaning that sooner or later, he'd have to create a blueprint for those tiktok videos of finding absurd replacements for a sim racing wheel.
Luckily enough, alongside Solberg was Phil Mills, a co-driver used to the racer's unique approach and was happy enough to lean across the cabin and make a few adjustments mid-stage. Stop? Absolutely not, the pair continued to barrel their way through the Greek countryside at break-neck pace.
Sadly, the incident put an end to a two-stage winning streak, but the pair would go on to claim the top time in Stage 11 later that day. The duo's Subaru Impreza S8 WRC would go on to complete the rally in one piece - or at least as close to one piece as can be at the Acropolis - coming home fifth, less than two minutes off the winner, Colin McRae.
2005 - Super Special Stage of Olympic Proportions
Rally Greece is not all toolkits and danger though. The home of culture and sport, the nation also knows how to put on a show. And so just one year after the Olympics had returned to its ancestral home for the 2004 Summer competition, stadiums were left with nothing to do except host other sporting events - one of which being the 2005 opening Super Special Stage.
With a packed crowd sitting beneath a sculptural piece of architecture, a tight and twisty course provided drivers with an intricate challenge to face before venturing out into the rocky wilderness. With the rafters packed, this has to be one of the most impressive Super Special Stages we can remember - not to mention the close battles its side-by-side layout provided.
This year, we have already spoken about our desire to see more Super Special Stages in sim racing, with the 2026 Monte Carlo Rally venturing down onto the GP circuit lighting the flame. Sadly, we do not see Supernova introducing this style of compact venue into Assetto Corsa Rally, but one can only dream.
2013 - A Marathon of Rally
Home of the Olympics Greece might be, but it is also the birthplace of the Marathon - a 42 km running race tracing its roots back to a Messenger's mid-war jog. Thankfully, that history inspired one stage that could well find its way into the Assetto Corsa Rally stage list - though do not expected it to hit the game from update 0.5.
Typically in the World Rally Championship, promoters and organisers like to settle drivers into an event with an easier opening stage before progressively cranking up the pressure throughout the event. In 2013, it is fair to say that was not the case. In fact, for the first stage of Round 6 in the 2013 WRC, under searing Mediterranean heat, drivers had to face the daunting prospect of a 47.7 km run.
As you can tell from the above onboard, that made for a truly physical endeavour seemingly designed solely to punish drivers that thought they could tackle the Rally of the Gods. Nasser Al-Attiyah completed the stage in just under 34 minutes and now as the second-winningest driver at the Dakar Rally, we would imagine this particular stage helped prepare the Qatari for what is now his specialty: long-distance rally racing.
When all was said and done, it was Russian driver Evgeny Novikov that took the top spot by 20 seconds over Dani Sordo. The leader completed the stage in a whopping 32:58.6 making it one of the longest stages in the modern WRC era. And if that distance was not enough, the stage stuck to Rally Greece's traditional Horsemen: twists, rocks and dust.
What is your favourite Rally Greece moment? Are you excited to recreate them in Assetto Corsa Rally? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion in our ACR forum!
