Sébastien Ogier set a hot pace to win Thursday evening’s opening speed test at EKO Acropolis Rally as huge crowds brought central Athens to a standstill. The Frenchman, driving a Yaris World Rally Car, stopped the clocks 0.6sec faster than Elfyn Evans. The event is back on the WRC calendar for the first time since 2013 and its traditional start ceremony at the foot of Athens’ towering Acropolis citadel launched the rally. Rovanperä and then Evans topped the times before Ogier, the last top-tier car to start, edged them both. “It’s always good to get off to a nice start even if it’s a very, very short stage and in the scale of things probably won’t make any difference, but it’s good to start well,” enthused Evans.

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