The Spaniard answers the call when needed and usually delivers consistent performances in World Rally Championship events. Sordo’s strengths lie especially in slow and technical gravel rallies, as was demonstrated once again last weekend in Greece.
Sordo finished second in the rally without major issues. One puncture on Saturday set him back and took him out of the fight for victory. However, it’s unlikely Sordo would have been allowed to win, as his teammate and WRC championship leader, Thierry Neuville, was behind him.
This season, Sordo has competed in three WRC rallies, securing two podium finishes and a fifth place in Rally Portugal. Throughout his career, Sordo has predominantly been in the role of a second or third driver, but his stats are still impressive. Despite having just three WRC wins in his long career, his 192 WRC starts have resulted in 56 podiums. That means Sordo has finished on the podium in 30.2% of the rallies he’s competed in, even though in the early years his equipment wasn’t always competitive enough for podium contention.
Sordo is a reliable driver, although mistakes have occurred in recent seasons. Hyundai’s triple victory was sweet for the veteran, as the excellent result in Greece virtually secured the manufacturers’ championship for the Korean team this year.
“At this moment, I am very happy with what we have achieved here for both myself and the team. It was a complicated rally and I felt we demonstrated our speed on some of the stages,” Sordo said.
“Of course, I wanted to show my speed more at times, but I had to be clever and think of the team and the manufacturers’ fight. But we took it carefully to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes or get another puncture.”
Sordo’s final comment reveals much about his team-player nature. This attitude has earned the Spaniard nearly 200 WRC rallies and an 18-year career at the top of the sport.
Hyundai’s triple victory is golden. Toyota struggled badly for the second rally in a row. Hyundai’s return to dominance in the rally world for the first time since the pandemic year of 2020 is now almost sealed.
“My dream was to finish like this with all three cars on the podium; for the whole team both here and back at base, this is a really good result for our motivation,” Sordo said excitedly.
The WRC season continues at the end of September in Chile. After that, only two more rounds remain: Central Europe in October and Japan in November.
