Let the cars fly! Acropolis Rally set to kick off this week

France's Sebastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena in a Citroen C4 jump in the air during the special stage of Schimatari, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Athens during the Acropolis Rally in 2008. Photo: AAP via AP/Phil Ipparis

7 September 2021 2:19pm

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Fans can rejoice as the Acropolis Rally is revived this year.

A meeting was held at the citizen protection ministry on Monday, chaired by Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos and with the participation of Deputy Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis, to discuss the traffic measures that need to be taken during the EKO Acropolis Rally taking place on Thursday, 9 September.

The rally is expected to create extensive traffic problems since it starts at the Acropolis and goes through Syntagma Square in the heart of the city. This will mean that the entire city centre will be closed to traffic from 11 am on Thursday morning until 9pm at night so that cars can race from Queen Amalias Avenue, past the front of Hellenic Parliament at Syntagma Square, turning successively to the left and finishing the stage on Georgiou A street after having circled Syntagma Square.

This will be the first time in its history, that the rally will “storm” through the centre of the Greek capital, which will cause challenging traffic conditions, but for racing enthusiasts, the closure will be worth it for the race which first began in 1951, when several speed enthusiasts suggested the creation of a world-class rally to Apostolos Nikolaidis, general secretary of the Automobile and Touring Club of Greece (ELPA). By 1953, the ELPA Rally had been renamed the Acropolis Rally.

Back in its heyday in the 1970s, it featured prominently on the international circuit, drawing some of the world’s finest drivers, such as Walter Roehrl, Bjorn Waldegard, Ari Vatanan, Stig Blomqvist, Juha Kankkunen, Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae, to name but a few.

Diehard fans would gather at vantage points around the dirt track, with the choking taste of grit in their mouths, as late-spring/early-summer temperatures soared.

Cockpits resembled saunas as drivers made Herculean efforts to battle against the elements, earning the event the “rally of the gods” name. Though these days it takes place far away from the temple of Athena, the drivers face a fast and furious race against Chronos, the god of time, while vying for the grace of Nike, the goddess of victory.