Sordo praises team-mate Suninen

Finnish star Suninen stepped into the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 in place of Sordo for Estonia and Finland, but the Spaniard is back at the controls for next month’s EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (7 - 10 September). Hyundai confirmed last week, however, that Suninen will return to action for Rally Chile Bio Bío - an opportunity which Sordo feels is well deserved.

“From my side, I think he drove really well,” said Sordo. “It’s important when you get these chances not to make a mistake – but at the same time this isn’t easy because the team is asking you to drive fast, but also to make sure you are at the finish.

“You have to be clever to drive like this and Teemu has done that. You could see that Thierry [Neuville] and EP (Esapekka Lappi) were both pushing and he wasn’t so far from them. The times were good. “The most important thing is that all of us [Hyundai] drivers are comfortable in the car and we can keep pushing for the points for the team.”

Asked about Sordo’s help and advice, Suninen replied: “When I started in Estonia, first time competing [in WRC] in the car and he was really helping me out with my first steps. He was like a big brother for me. I’m really thankful for him.”