Not far from the Col de l'Echarasson, in France’s Vercors Mountains, Dani Sordo is in the process of completing two long days of testing (Monday and Tuesday). After an initial day on dry asphalt, he then faced more typical Monte Carlo conditions on the Tuesday. And his beaming smile said it all: “I’m very happy!”
This year, Dani Sordo is back at Citroën, the make which launched his career in the Junior World Championship in 2005, and then in the WRC in 2006. “It’s clear that my two years with Mini weren’t always easy. We weren’t able to do everything we wanted. That said, working with another, equally professional team proved very useful for me. But now I’m back at Citroën, back with people I have known for many years and whose work I appreciate. They welcomed me back as though I’d never left…”
The Spaniard was already a little familiar with the DS3 WRC after contributing to the car’s early development work, in 2010. “We all know how efficient Citroën is and the car has obviously come on a great deal since then,” he says. “It’s a pleasure to drive and the transmission and steering feel very comfortable. It hasn’t lost any of its responsiveness or vivacity. I will need to re-accustom myself to that, but I don’t see that as a problem.”
Given the presence of Sébastien Loeb on the Monte Carlo, Dani hasn’t been nominated by the French carmaker to score Manufacturers’ points. “I have become used to having to push while at the same time bearing in mind the need to make sure of Manufacturers’ points, so the fact that I will be spared that mission next week could be a good thing. In any case, I will still need to drive very, very fast; as fast as possible!”
From five starts, Dani has come second in the Principality on two occasions (2007, 2012)… “Who would believe me if I said my aim wasn’t to win? I intend to push all the way for the best result I can. Okay, I will be up against the likes of Seb, who is the absolute benchmark, while Mikko has a year’s experience with the DS3. However, Ogier, Latvala and many of the others have either changed cars or changed status, so there are automatically certain question marks there. On top of that, there are all the uncertainties that are a traditional ingredient of the Rallye Monte-Carlo, especially those associated with the weather, so it could be very open. I will do my best to come out on top and, if I succeed, you can be sure you’ll never have seen Dani Sordo so thrilled!”
