Wed 21 Aug 2024

Hyundai calls on Sordo as WRC title fight heats up

When he stepped down off the Sardinian podium earlier this year, Hyundai star Dani Sordo didn’t know when or if he’d be back in the FIA World Rally Championship.

The 41-year-old Spaniard is part of the Korean squad’s rotating pool of third drivers, sharing an i20 N Rally1 Hybrid with Esapekka Lappi and Andreas Mikkelsen. If he was done, a fourth top-three result in the last six years (two of which were wins) made the Italian island a good place to end his story.

He’s not done. Sordo’s experience along with his ability to deliver consistent points is vital to Hyundai’s challenge for both titles this season. And that experience is obvious when it comes to Greece next month. This will be Sordo’s 10th start at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece – none of the current factory Rally1 drivers come close to that.

His first outing on one of the WRC’s most arduous events came as part of his successful Junior WRC campaign in a Citroën C2 in 2005 – but he actually retired from that event with gearbox problems, after running second in class.

A top-six finish on his maiden World Rally Car (Citroën Xsara WRC) outing in Greece followed in 2006, but his first podium didn’t come until his second stint with the factory Citroën team in 2013 when he was second.

Most recently, he’s finished third with Hyundai for the last two years – and it’s that experience and continued speed which explains why Sordo’s coming off the bench for round 10.

Europe
Starts: Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 7:00:00 AM
Poland
Starts: Friday, October 11, 2024 at 9:30:00 AM
China
Starts: Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 3:00:00 AM