Nick Turner
Credit: Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Dani Sordo received a timely boost in his bid for a hattrick of Rally Sardinia victories, with praise from his boss Andrea Adamo, following his second placed finish in Portugal less than two weeks ago.
Adamo had urged Sordo to go for victory on the final day in Portugal, but Sordo couldn’t quite match eventual winner Elfyn Evans. But as the only Hyundai to complete the entire route his boss was very pleased with his performance.
Adamo said, “In Portugal, Dani did an amazing job. We see this from him and he did what Dani Sordo does. There was a lot of pressure on him to bring home the points, but still to keep the pace and that’s not easy when you are not driving these cars all of the time.
“But Dani did it. And now we are looking forward to Sardinia. I think we have a good car now – Thierry told me the car was good in Portugal and the same from Ott.”
In the previous two years, Sordo has be able to use his part-time nature to his advantage on the dusty and rock strewn stages in Sardinia, as his lower overall championship placing gave him a more beneficial road order position. This was also true in Portugal, as the Spaniard led most of the opening day before a late spin dropped him down the leaderboard.
Nevertheless, the performance was impressive as it had been five months since Sordo had last driven the car in anger – and that was on the asphalt in Monte Carlo.
“It was great to get on the podium at Rally de Portugal, but we will be going to Sardinia to fight for the win,” Sordo said.
“The last two years competing at Rally Italia Sardegna have delivered really good results for me. On both occasions, I have managed to win the rally, so it is an event that I really like. I feel very comfortable there, plus I will have an advantage with road position on the first day, so I am definitely looking forward to it.”
Source: motorsportweek.com