15 years since his first FIA World Rally Championship outing in an Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, Dani Sordo returns to his home rally in Spain, hoping to make the most of of the special event in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC.
Spain marks Sordo’s seventh WRC rally of the season as he shares the car Hayden Paddon, and last time out he retired from the ADAC Rallye Deutschland with accident damage; Since then he participated in the Barum Czech Rally Zlín in the Hyundai i20 R5, taking a third place finish.
While he has had limited seat time this year, his pace has been strong, with a second, third and two fourth placed finishes so far this season.
“Rally de España is one of the most special events of the whole year for me.” said Sordo. “Nothing can replace the feeling we get when competing on home soil and in front of such passionate supporters. It makes for a tremendous atmosphere from the opening super special right through to the Power Stage.”
While the other events on the schedule feature a mostly consistent surface throughout the course of the rally, the RallyRACC Catalunya offers the unique experience of both gravel and tarmac.
“The gravel-to-tarmac schedule is like no other rally we tackle, and requires a very different approach.
“It’s been a long time since Portugal, my last event on gravel, so it will be a tough start even with a beneficial road position.
“We know the car is strong on loose surface, while we also have some evolutions for tarmac so I hope we can perform stronger than in Germany.”
The 54. RallyRACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada 2018 gets under way on Thursday 25 October with the crowd favourite Barcelona city stage returning to the event.
Follow The Checkered Flag throughout the event for updates each day.
