VBR Race Zone x EKO at WRC Acropolis Rally Greece
Phil
VBR Race Zone x EKO at WRC Acropolis Rally Greece
The World Rally Championship has never seen this before.
At the EKO Acropolis Rally Greece – round eight of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship – VBR Race Zone partnered with EKO to bring a completely new kind of racing to the fans. Not a simulator setup at a fan zone. Not an RC car track behind a fence. A real VBR Race Cockpit, on a real VBR Car, on our own Super Special Stage – running right alongside the Rally of Gods itself.
It's the first time this category of racing has ever been brought to a WRC event, anywhere in the world.
The Numbers
1,700+ fans got behind the wheel of a VBR Race Cockpit
4 VBR Race Cockpits running back to back
29 hours of live operation across the event
No queue was wasted. Every single one of those drivers got the same thing the WRC crews get on stage: real cars, real physics, real consequences when you push too hard into a corner.
Built Overnight, Next to the Works Teams
While the WRC field was resting between stages, our crew was setting up VBR Race Zone in the service park – right next to Toyota Gazoo Racing's World Rally Team, the team currently leading both the drivers' and manufacturers' championship. Same tarmac. Same energy. Two very different ways to go fast, side by side.
That's the whole idea behind POV Racing – a category VBR invented. You don't need a Rally1 car or a co-driver reading pace notes to feel what real racing feels like. You need a VBR Race Cockpit and the will to push.
Full Circle for Two Co-Founders
For most of the VBR team, Acropolis was a huge activation. For two of us, it was personal.
Thomas Steinber and Philipp Lietz raced rally together long before VBR existed – Thomas in the co-driver's seat, Philipp behind the wheel. The idea for VBR wasn't born in an office. It was born before the start of one of Austria's toughest rally stages, when the two of them asked a simple question: what if anyone could feel this?
Years later, standing in a WRC service park with a VBR Race Zone built up next to a factory rally team, that question has an answer. Everyone can. From wherever you're sitting to a VBR Race Cockpit, the distance is a lot shorter than a rally career.
More Than a Fan Zone
The Acropolis Rally is famous for being brutal – rocks, heat, and roads that break cars. VBR Race Zone gave fans a taste of that intensity without needing a race license or a service crew of their own. That's not a side attraction at a rally. That's the sport itself, made accessible, one lap at a time.
About VBR
Founded in 2021, VBR Race Zone invented teleoperated POV Racing – the world's first system where you control a real car, on a real track, from a VBR Race Cockpit with real force feedback. No simulation, no VR. Trusted by Porsche, Ford, Deutsche Telekom, Goodyear and ASUS ROG, VBR Race Zone is now expanding globally through franchise partnerships. Find a Race Zone near you at vbrracezone.com.
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg display="block" role="presentation" viewBox="0 0 18 18" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M 11.56 8.84 C 11.56 10.342 10.342 11.56 8.84 11.56 C 7.338 11.56 6.12 10.342 6.12 8.84 C 6.12 7.338 7.338 6.12 8.84 6.12 C 10.342 6.12 11.56 7.338 11.56 8.84 Z M 17.68 4.76 L 17.68 12.92 C 17.677 15.548 15.548 17.677 12.92 17.68 L 4.76 17.68 C 2.132 17.677 0.003 15.548 0 12.92 L 0 4.76 C 0.003 2.132 2.132 0.003 4.76 0 L 12.92 0 C 15.548 0.003 17.677 2.132 17.68 4.76 Z M 12.92 8.84 C 12.92 6.587 11.093 4.76 8.84 4.76 C 6.587 4.76 4.76 6.587 4.76 8.84 C 4.76 11.093 6.587 12.92 8.84 12.92 C 11.093 12.92 12.92 11.093 12.92 8.84 Z M 14.96 3.74 C 14.96 3.177 14.503 2.72 13.94 2.72 C 13.377 2.72 12.92 3.177 12.92 3.74 C 12.92 4.303 13.377 4.76 13.94 4.76 C 14.503 4.76 14.96 4.303 14.96 3.74 Z" fill="rgb(255, 255, 255)" height="17.68px" id="ZiX_EsMFN" width="17.68px"/></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg display="block" role="presentation" viewBox="0 0 18 18" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M 18 5.333 L 18 8.667 C 18 9.035 17.69 9.333 17.308 9.333 C 15.861 9.337 14.436 9.002 13.154 8.358 L 13.154 11.667 C 13.154 15.164 10.209 18 6.577 18 C 2.945 18 0 15.164 0 11.667 C 0 8.592 2.328 5.873 5.417 5.343 C 5.619 5.309 5.826 5.362 5.983 5.489 C 6.14 5.615 6.231 5.803 6.231 6 L 6.231 9.558 C 6.231 9.815 6.077 10.049 5.836 10.16 C 5.061 10.513 4.672 11.36 4.921 12.15 C 5.17 12.94 5.983 13.436 6.831 13.315 C 7.679 13.193 8.307 12.492 8.308 11.667 L 8.308 0.667 C 8.308 0.298 8.618 0 9 0 L 12.462 0 C 12.844 0 13.154 0.298 13.154 0.667 C 13.156 2.875 15.015 4.665 17.308 4.667 C 17.69 4.667 18 4.965 18 5.333 Z" fill="rgb(255, 255, 255)" height="18px" id="ZDW8xJnSn" width="18px"/></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg display="block" role="presentation" viewBox="0 0 18 18" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M 16.999 0 L 1 0 C 0.448 0 0 0.448 0 1.001 L 0 17 C 0 17.552 0.448 18 1 18 L 16.999 18 C 17.265 18 17.52 17.895 17.707 17.707 C 17.895 17.52 18 17.265 18 17 L 18 1.001 C 18 0.735 17.895 0.48 17.707 0.293 C 17.52 0.105 17.265 0 16.999 0 Z M 5.34 15.337 L 2.667 15.337 L 2.667 6.747 L 5.338 6.747 L 5.338 15.337 Z M 4.005 5.574 C 3.15 5.574 2.457 4.881 2.457 4.026 C 2.457 3.171 3.15 2.478 4.005 2.478 C 4.86 2.478 5.553 3.171 5.553 4.026 C 5.553 4.881 4.86 5.574 4.005 5.574 Z M 15.339 15.338 L 12.669 15.338 L 12.669 11.16 C 12.669 10.164 12.651 8.883 11.281 8.883 C 9.891 8.883 9.679 9.969 9.679 11.09 L 9.679 15.338 L 7.012 15.338 L 7.012 6.75 L 9.573 6.75 L 9.573 7.923 L 9.61 7.923 C 9.964 7.248 10.837 6.537 12.133 6.537 C 14.838 6.537 15.337 8.315 15.337 10.629 L 15.337 15.339 Z" fill="rgb(255, 255, 255)" height="18.000001129450904px" id="tLAU_ISx3" width="18px"/></svg>)