Why Dani Sordo is excited for his WRC topflight return

Dani Sordo last raced in Rally1 at the at 2024 Acropolis Rally Greece

So could Sordo spark some magic on his return to continue this dramatic to start to the 2026 campaign?

The WRC has proved this season that anything is possible and judging from his pre-event comments the 42-year-old is feeling confident ahead of his return.

Sordo has been busy preparing for his comeback by taking part in Rallye La Llana held on Spanish asphalt earlier this month. The event hadn’t originally been part of his preparation plan as Hyundai had initially planned to compete at Rallye Villa de Santa Brígida before organisers cancelled the event due to adverse weather conditions.

While the asphalt on mainland Spain is different to what he will face in the Canary Islands this week, Sordo believes there is no reason why he cannot target a victory or podium.

“My target is to achieve a good set-up with the car and to try to fight for a good result, the podium for sure, but when I start any rally I always target the victory, so why not? Also in Spain and on tarmac, why not go for the win,” he added.

“Rallye La Llana was not really the same as Rally Islas Canarias in terms of the tarmac – some stages were a little bit similar, but it was not the same for sure. But we found a good set-up and a good balance with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1, and it was nice to work in the car with Candido [Carrera, co-driver] again. We have a good set-up for the Canarias for the moment.”

Dani Sordo kept his foot in the door contesting the Portuguese national championship

Dani Sordo kept his foot in the door contesting the Portuguese national championship

While Sordo has sorely missed driving a Rally1 car, he has not been sitting on the sidelines from a competition sense. Last year he contested the Portuguese national championship, driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car. Sordo was locked in an intense fight with former WRC rally winner Kris Meeke, beating the Northern Irishman to the title by seven points.

“For sure, I have missed the feeling in the car, I’ve missed this and the events,” said Sordo.

“Honestly, the competition I did not miss, because I had some nice competition with Kris Meeke in the Portuguese championship driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally2. We were pushing each other all the time and enjoying the stages. But you definitely miss the feeling with a Rally1 car when you are not driving it.”

This week’s Rally Islas Canarias entry marks Sordo’s first start in the asphalt rally since 2005. Back then, competing alongside Marc Marti, the pair finished second overall piloting a Citroen C2 S1600.

“I don’t remember a lot from Canarias. It’s a mythical rally in the Spanish championship I last did in 2005,” he said.

“I remember the weather – it was difficult to find a good weather forecast because, like all islands, it’s a bit complicated from one side to the other, so you can have rain in one stage and in other stages it can be dry. This I remember and also the roads, they were quite good, a bit like race circuit stages.”

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This year’s 18-stage edition of the event is set begin on Thursday night.

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