Dani Sordo
Sordo in 2014
Personal information
NationalitySpain Spanish
Full nameDaniel Sordo Castillo
Born (1983-05-02) 2 May 1983
Puente San Miguel, Cantabria
World Rally Championship record
Active years2003–present
TeamsKronos Citroën, Citroën, Mini, Hyundai
Rallies182
Championships0
Rally wins3
Podiums54
Stage wins219
Total points1306
First rally2003 Rally Catalunya
First win2013 Rallye Deutschland
Last win2020 Rally Italia Sardegna
Last rally2023 Acropolis Rally

Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo (born 2 May 1983) is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. He achieved his first WRC victory at the 2013 Rallye Deutschland.

Career

Sordo began in motocross when he was 12 years old, but also experienced success in hillclimbing, karting and touring cars. He first drove in a World Rally Championship event at the Rally Catalunya, the Spanish round of the series, in 2003 in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, finishing 18th overall. He won the Spanish Junior Championship that year, and retained the title in 2004, while also accumulating further international experience at the WRC events in Argentina (retired), Germany (19th), France (13th) and Spain (20th).

In this last event, he switched from the Lancer Evo to a Citroën C2 S1600, and for 2005 he committed to a full season driving the C2 in the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) with Belgium's Kronos Racing team. He also switched co-drivers, pairing with Marc Martí, the former co-driver of double World Champion Carlos Sainz. Victories in Sardinia, Finland, Germany and Spain brought him the junior world title.

Sordo driving a Citroën Xsara WRC at the 2006 Rally Japan.

These showings earned Sordo a subsequent drive in a Kronos Total Citroën-prepared Xsara World Rally Car as the team's third driver in the 2006 season, although the initial plan - latterly dropped - was for the Spaniard to combine a piecemeal World Rally Car programme with a simultaneous defence of the JWRC title in the C2.

His early results though, including successive podiums at the Rally Catalunya and the Rallye de France, proved sufficient to not only expand his complement of contested events, but also ensure promotion to the second driver berth from the Rallye Deutschland onwards, alongside Sébastien Loeb and ahead of team-mate Xavier Pons. Sordo finished the 2006 season with four podium places, 49 points and a fifth overall in the drivers' world championship.

Sordo driving a Citroën C4 WRC at the 2010 Rally Finland.
Sordo driving a Hyundai i20 WRC at the 2015 Rally de Portugal.
Sordo driving a Hyundai i20 WRC at the 2016 Rally de Portugal.
Sordo in his Hyundai i20 WRC for the 2018 Rallye Deutschland.

Citroën Sport then announced that Sordo will be their second driver for their 2007 season works team return. Sébastien Loeb would lead the team's push to win another title, this time using the C4 instead of Xsara.[1] Sordo started the season with a second place at the 2007 Monte Carlo Rally and went on to finish on the podium six more times; in Portugal, Italy, Spain, where he also led a WRC event for the first time in his career, France, Japan and Ireland. With 65 points, he placed fourth overall in the drivers' championship, behind his teammate Loeb and BP Ford World Rally Team's Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen.

In the 2008 season, after only three points in the first three events, Sordo finished third in Argentina and second in Jordan. On 12 July Sordo won the SM O.K. Auto-Ralli, the fifth round of the Finnish Rally Championship. Initially, he only planned to use the event as a test session when Citroën decided to competitively enroll him in the event to build confidence in preparation for the 2008 Rally Finland. Sordo's win marks his first in a WRC car.[2] Citroën is also believed to have been testing out new parts at this event as a few slight modifications could be noticed in a few cars.

Back in the World Rally Championship, Sordo took fourth place in Finland and went on to drive his C4 WRC to three consecutive runner-up finishes behind his teammate Loeb; in Germany, New Zealand and Spain. With these results, Citroën passed Ford and took a 27-point lead in the manufacturers' world championship. At the season-ending Wales Rally GB, Loeb and Sordo secured the team their fourth manufacturers' crown by finishing first and third, respectively. Sordo finished a career-best third in the drivers' standings.

In the 2010 WRC season Sordo scored a 4th place in the opening round Rally Sweden, while he scored no points in the following round in Rally Mexico. In the third round in Rally Jordan he scored another 4th place, in the Turkish Rally he was forced to retire, while in Rally New Zealand he scored 5th place and in the Rally of Portugal he scored his first podium finish of the year. In Rally Bulgaria, Sordo finished in second place behind his team leader Loeb, giving his Citroën team their first one-two finish of the season. However, he was replaced by Sebastien Ogier for the remaining gravel events of the season in the works team, and was demoted to the Citroën Junior Team alongside Kimi Räikkönen. In Rally Finland Sordo finished 4th and from Rally Deutschland onwards Dani Sordo swapped his co-driver to Diego Vallejo. In Rally Deutschland itself Sordo scored another 2nd place podium. In the following Rally in Japan he finished 4th and in Rally Alsace 2nd again. At the end of the season he had 63 points using the old scoring system in 5th place. For the 2011 season Sordo joined MINI in their first year in the WRC, securing 2 podiums with 3rd in Germany and 2nd in France, respectively. He also finished 4th in Spain and 6th in the first round for MINI in Sardegnia. For 2012 he continues his partnership with MINI for their first full season beginning with the Monte Carlo Rally, where he took his first podium for 2012 finishing in second place. However, in Sweden he went off road and scored no points. Sordo did not compete in the Rally Mexico due to MINI separating from Prodrive. A round later, however, after some more than 100 modifications to the MINI, Sordo won 6 stages including the power stage. Sordo was set to replace Ford's number one driver Jari-Matti Latvala in Argentina, after the Finn was injured in practice for the upcoming event, the only event he drove for Ford, after which he competed in New-Zealand, Germany, France and Spain for Prodrive as the team tried to focus on the sealed surfaces.

Besides competing in the WRC for 2012, Sordo participated in the IRC in the Tour de Corse in a MINI. He won the event and took his maiden win in the IRC championship. After 2 seasons in the Prodrive (MINI) Team, Sordo rejoined Citroën for 2013 driving the second DS3 WRC.

At 2013 Rallye Deustchland, Sordo was in a stable third position in the second of three days, but after first placed Jari-Matti Latvala and second placed Thierry Neuville both left the road, Sordo found himself in the lead, with the Belgian just 0.8 seconds behind him at the end of the day, with just two stages to go. He eventually managed to hold on to first place and finally, after a nail-biting Power Stage and at his 106th WRC start, Dani Sordo won a WRC round.

Since the 2014 season Sordo moved to the new Hyundai Motorsport team and drives the second or third car in selected events.[3]

In 2019, he achieved the second victory of his career at Rally Italia Sardegna. Sordo, was second for most of the rally behind Ott Tänak, but the Estonian suffered a power steering failure at the power stage, giving victory to Dani.

A year later, he won the 2020 Rally Italia Sardegna, his second victory in a row at the event. He is the only driver alongside Sébastien Loeb, Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville, to win the Italian Rally on multiple times. In the next race in Rally Monza, after leading the overall virtually, finally finished third, helping Hyundai win the constructors' championship.[4]

In October 2021, he renewed his contract through the 2022 season with Hyundai. After the renewal, he announced that 2022 would be his last season.[5] At 2021 Rally Catalunya, after winning four stages in a row (SS15, SS16, SS17 and power stage), he finished 3rd in the rally, achieving his 50th podium in the WRC.[6]

WRC victories

 #  Event Season Co-driver Car
1 Germany 31. ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2013 Carlos del Barrio Citroën DS3 WRC
2 Italy 16° Rally Italia Sardegna 2019 Carlos del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
3 Italy 17º Rally Italia Sardegna 2020 Carlos del Barrio Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

Career results

Complete WRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Points
2003 Dani Sordo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII MON SWE TUR NZL ARG GRC CYP GER FIN AUS ITA FRA ESP
18		 GBR NC 0
2004 Dani Sordo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII MON SWE MEX NZL CYP GRE TUR ARG
Ret		 FIN GER
19		 JPN GBR ITA FRA
13		 NC 0
Citroën C2 S1600 ESP
20		 AUS
2005 Dani Sordo Citroën C2 S1600 MON
15		 SWE MEX NZL ITA
17		 CYP TUR GRE
Ret		 ARG FIN
15		 GER
13		 GBR JPN FRA
15		 ESP
12		 AUS NC 0
2006 Kronos Total Citroën WRT Citroën Xsara WRC MON
8		 SWE
16		 MEX
4		 ESP
2		 FRA
3		 ARG
5		 ITA
3		 GRE
6		 GER
2		 FIN
Ret		 JPN
DSQ		 CYP
Ret		 TUR
7		 AUS
23		 NZL
5		 GBR
7		 5th 49
2007 Citroën Total WRT Citroën C4 WRC MON
2		 SWE
12		 NOR
25		 MEX
4		 POR
3		 ARG
6		 ITA
3		 GRE
24		 FIN
Ret		 GER
Ret		 NZL
6		 ESP
2		 FRA
3		 JPN
2		 IRE
2		 GBR
5		 4th 65
2008 Citroën Total WRT Citroën C4 WRC MON
11		 SWE
6		 MEX
16		 ARG
3		 JOR
2		 ITA
5		 GRE
5		 TUR
4		 FIN
4		 GER
2		 NZL
2		 ESP
2		 FRA
Ret		 JPN
DSQ		 GBR
3		 3rd 65
2009 Citroën Total WRT Citroën C4 WRC IRE
2		 NOR
5		 CYP
4		 POR
3		 ARG
2		 ITA
22		 GRE
11		 POL
2		 FIN
4		 AUS
3		 ESP
2		 GBR
3		 3rd 64
2010 Citroën Total WRT Citroën C4 WRC SWE
4		 MEX
14		 JOR
4		 TUR
Ret		 NZL
5		 POR
3		 BUL
2		 GER
2		 FRA
2		 ESP
3		 5th 150
Citroën Junior Team FIN
5		 JPN
4		 GBR
5
2011 Mini WRC Team Mini John Cooper Works WRC SWE MEX POR JOR ITA
6		 ARG GRE FIN
Ret		 GER
3		 AUS FRA
2		 ESP
4		 GBR
20		 8th 59
2012 Mini WRC Team Mini John Cooper Works WRC MON
2		 SWE
Ret		 MEX 11th 35
Prodrive WRC Team POR
11		 GRE NZL
6		 FIN GER
9		 GBR FRA
Ret		 ITA ESP
9
Ford World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC ARG
Ret
2013 Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT Citroën DS3 WRC MON
3		 SWE
Ret		 ARG
9		 FRA
2		 5th 123
Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT MEX
4		 POR
12		 GRE
2		 ITA
4		 FIN
5		 GER
1		 AUS ESP
Ret		 GBR
7
2014 Hyundai Shell World Rally Team Hyundai i20 WRC MON
Ret		 SWE MEX POR
Ret		 ARG
Ret		 ITA POL FIN GER
2		 AUS FRA
4		 ESP
5		 GBR 10th 40
2015 Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC MON
6		 SWE
WD		 MEX
5		 ARG
5		 POR
6		 ITA
20		 POL
10		 FIN
11		 GER
4		 FRA
7		 ESP
3		 GBR
4		 8th 89
Hyundai Motorsport N AUS
8
2016 Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC MON
6		 MEX
4		 ARG
4		 POR
4		 ITA
4		 GER
2		 CHN
C		 FRA
7		 ESP
2		 GBR
6		 5th 130
Hyundai Motorsport N SWE
6		 POL
Ret		 FIN
WD		 AUS
5
2017 Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON
4		 SWE
4		 MEX
8		 FRA
3		 ARG
8		 POR
3		 ITA
12		 POL
4		 FIN
9		 GER
34		 ESP
15		 GBR
10		 AUS 6th 95
2018 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON
Ret		 SWE MEX
2		 FRA
4		 ARG
3		 POR
4		 ITA FIN GER
Ret		 TUR GBR ESP
5		 AUS 9th 71
2019 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON SWE MEX
9		 FRA
4		 ARG
6		 CHL POR
23		 ITA
1		 FIN GER
5		 TUR
5		 GBR ESP
3		 AUS
C		 8th 89
2020 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON SWE MEX
Ret		 EST TUR ITA
1		 MNZ
3		 8th 42
2021 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON
5		 ARC CRO POR
2		 ITA
17		 KEN
12		 EST BEL GRE
4		 FIN ESP
3		 MNZ
3		 6th 81
2022 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 MON SWE CRO POR
3		 ITA
3		 KEN EST FIN BEL GRE
3		 NZL ESP
5		 JPN
Ret		 8th 59
2023 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 MON
7		 SWE MEX
5		 CRO POR
2		 ITA
Ret		 KEN
5		 EST FIN GRE
3		 CHL EUR JPN
Ret		 8th 63

* Season still in progress.

JWRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pos. Points
2005 Dani Sordo Citroën C2 S1600 MON
4		 MEX ITA
1		 GRE
Ret		 FIN
1		 GER
1		 FRA
2		 ESP
1		 1st 53

IRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points
2012 Spain Dani Sordo Mini Cooper S2000 1.6T AZO CAN IRL COR
1		 MEC YPR SMR ROM ZLI YAL SLI SAN CYP 15th 25

ERC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WDC Points
2018 South Korea Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 R5 AZO CAN ACR CYP RMC CZE
3		 POL LIE 16th 24
2021 India Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 POL LAT ITA CZE PRT1
2		 PRT2
12		 HUN ESP 12th 40

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Citroën reward rising star Sordo". BBC Motorsport News. 2006-09-05. Retrieved 6 September 2006.
  2. ↑ "Sordo takes first win with C4 in Finland". Crash.net. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  3. ↑ WRC.com - Hyundai reveals its driver line-up Archived 2018-09-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 10 December 2013
  4. ↑ Manufacturers’ champions in Monza Retrieved on 17 October 2021
  5. ↑ Sordo - Next season will be my last in WRC Retrieved on 17 October 2021
  6. ↑ Sordo doblega a Ogier y suma su podio número 50 Retrieved on 17 October 2021
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