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.
These showings earned Sordo a subsequent drive in a Kronos Total Citroën-prepared XsaraWorld 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.
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]
Sébastien Loeb is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He holds several other WRC records, including most event wins, most podium finishes and most stage wins. Loeb retired from full time WRC participation at the end of 2012. He currently drives part time in the WRC for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, and full time in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) for Bahrain Raid Xtreme.
Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish former rally driver, and a current Rally-Raid driver, who drove in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 he finished runner-up to Sébastien Loeb. Hirvonen's co-driver was Jarmo Lehtinen from the 2003 season until his retirement in 2014, Lehtinen had replaced Miikka Anttila who co-drove with Hirvonen in the 2002 season.
Daniel Elena also known as "Danos" is a Monégasque rally co-driver working most notably with Sébastien Loeb. Between them the pair have won the World Rally Championship (WRC) nine times with Citroën, later competing with Hyundai. Their 79 wins together make him the co-driver with the most victories in the history of the WRC.
The Citroën C4 WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Citroën World Rally Team by Citroën Racing to compete in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Citroën C4 road car and replaced the Citroën Xsara WRC. The car was introduced for the 2007 World Rally Championship season and has taken the drivers' title each year since in the hands of Sébastien Loeb, as well as the manufacturers' title in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The Citroën Total World Rally Team was the Citroën factory backed entry into the World Rally Championship (WRC), run by Citroën Racing.
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Thierry Jean Neuville is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up in the drivers' championship five times. He helped Hyundai win their first manufacturers' title in 2019, as well as repeating the feat in 2020. His current co-driver is compatriot Martijn Wydaeghe.
The 2013 FIA World Rally Championship was the 41st season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. The season was run over 13 rallies, starting with the Rallye Monte Carlo on 16 January, and finishing with the Wales Rally of Great Britain on 17 November. Volkswagen entered the series as a constructor with the Polo R WRC, while Ford and Mini ended their factory support for the Fiesta RS WRC and John Cooper Works WRC respectively, though both continued to make their cars available to customer teams.
The Volkswagen Polo R WRC is a World Rally Car built and operated by Volkswagen Motorsport and based on the Volkswagen Polo for use in the World Rally Championship. The car, which made its début at the start of the 2013 season, is built to the second generation of World Rally Car regulations that were introduced in 2011, which are based upon the existing Super 2000 regulations, but powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine rather than the naturally aspirated 2-litre engine found in Super 2000 cars.
The 2014 FIA World Rally Championship was the 42nd season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers contested thirteen rallies across four continents, competing for the FIA World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers. The WRC-2, WRC-3 and Junior WRC championships all ran in support of the premier championship.
The 2015 FIA World Rally Championship was the 43rd season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers contest thirteen rallies across four continents, competing for the FIA World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers. The WRC-2, WRC-3 and Junior WRC championships are run in support of the premier championship.
The Hyundai World Rally Team is a rally team competing in the World Rally Championship (WRC) as the official Hyundai entrant. Its team principal is Cyril Abiteboul, and its drivers in the 2024 season include Thierry Neuville, Ott Tanak, Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo and Andreas Mikkelsen. The team has entered WRC every year since 2014 by Hyundai Motorsport, a division of Hyundai Motors based in Alzenau, Germany. Between the years of 2000 to 2003, the team was run by Motor Sport Developments of Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, on behalf of Hyundai Motor Sport.
The 2016 FIA World Rally Championship was the 44th season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers competed in thirteen rounds—starting with the Rallye Monte Carlo in January and finishing with Rally Australia in November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers.
The 2017 FIA World Rally Championship was the 45th season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews contested in thirteen events—starting in Monte Carlo on 19 January and ending in Australia on 19 November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Drivers were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with 2017-specification World Rally Cars were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series were supported by the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships and the newly created WRC Trophy at every round, and by the Junior WRC at selected rounds.
The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship was the 46th season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews were competing in thirteen events—starting with the Monte Carlo Rally in January and finishing with Rally Australia in November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with 2017-specification World Rally Cars were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series were once again supported by the WRC2 and WRC3 categories at every round and by the Junior WRC at selected rounds.
The 2018 Monte Carlo Rally was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 25 and 28 January 2018. It marked the eighty-sixth running of the Monte Carlo Rally, and was the first round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship and its support categories, the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships. The event, which was based in the town of Gap in the Hautes-Alpes department of France, was contested over seventeen special stages totalling a competitive distance of 394.74 km (245.28 mi).
The 2018 Rally Catalunya was a motor racing event for rally cars that took place between 25 and 28 October. The event was open to entries competing in World Rally Cars and cars complying with Group R regulations. It marked the fifty-fourth running of Rally Catalunya and was the twelfth round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship, the highest class of competition in international rallying. Seventy-six crews, including manufacturer teams and privateers, were entered to compete in the World Rally Championship, the FIA World Rally Championship-2 and FIA World Rally Championship-3 support series and the Spanish national Rally Championship and Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica championship. The 2018 event was based in Salou in Tarragona and consisted of eighteen special stages. The rally covered a total competitive distance of a 331.58 km and an additional 1,132.79 km in transport stages.
The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship was the forty-seventh season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews competed in fourteen events for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars homologated under regulations introduced in 2017 were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series was once again supported by the WRC2 category at every round, which was split into 2 classifications: WRC2 Pro for manufacturer entries and WRC2 for private entries, and by Junior WRC at selected events. WRC3 was discontinued in 2018.
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