07.06.2004 The Acropolis Rally, the second event in the World Junior Championship, saw Fiat Punto Abarth pairing, Xavier Pons and Oriol Julia, survive the tough event to come home on the podium

The Acropolis Rally, the second event in the World Junior Championship, saw Fiat Punto Abarth pairing Xavier Pons and Oriol Julia survive the tough event to come home on the podium.

The young Spanish star took his Team Hi-Tec Fiat Punto Abarth to third place in the junior category o the Greek Rally, as well as claiming an excellent sixteenth overall, preceded only by English Suzuki Ignis driver Guy Wilks and the Frenchman Bernardi in a Renault Clio.

As proof of just how tough this rally is, with 22 special stages on extremely hard dirt roads, only 5 out of the 21 teams taking part in the Super 1600 category made it to the finish.

Other Fiat Punto juniors to retire included Italian drivers Luca Tabaton, who suffered an accident during the first leg, Alan Scorcioni, who succumbed to a broken gearbox on leg two, and San Marino born Alex Broccoli, who went out after rear suspension damage.

The next round of the World Junior Championship will be the Rally of Turkey, from June 18 to 20.