It has been approximately 19 months since the rally world last saw Dani Sordo contest a World Rally Championship event in a Rally1 car. But that streak ends at this weekend’s Rally Islas Canarias.
The three-time winner is back competing in the WRC’s top tier for the first time since finishing second at 2024 Acropolis Rally Greece for Hyundai. This week, the WRC veteran and co-driver Candido Carrera rejoin the Hyundai squad to take over the third factory i20 N, for what will be their home round of the championship.
“Honestly, I am really excited to be back in the Rally1 car and with the team at Hyundai. I’m really looking forward to it, and I am also excited to be back at Rally Islas Canarias for only the second time since 2005,” said Sordo.
Hyundai suffered quite the humbling from Toyota 12 months ago on the Spanish Island’s smooth circuit-racing-style asphalt. Fifth place for Adrien Fourmaux was the best Hyundai could muster as the i20 N Evo’s weakness on asphalt were plain to see.
Since then, Hyundai has been busy working to improve its car on asphalt and, in Croatia two weeks ago, it came agonisingly close to securing not only a first win of the season, but a first win on asphalt since the Central European Rally in 2024. However, a final stage mistake from Thierry Neuville means the wait for a win continues.
The WRC season has been highly unpredictable so far with three different winners from four rounds while Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta tops the championship standings for the first time in his career after taking the spoils in Croatia and Kenya.
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.”
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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