Sordo returns to World Cup at Acropolis, title option for Rovanpera

spanish pilot Dani Sordo (Hyundai) this weekend, World Rally Championship (WRC), In particular Acropolis slurry (Greece), It will be his third appearance of the season, following two third-place finishes in Portugal and Italy.

Thus, the 39-year-old Spaniard intends, as he admitted, to “re-enter the top three” on the podium of the Greek event, keeping him in 10th place in the rankings. will do. With co-driver Candido Carrera.

Sordo to face each other for 17 consecutive seasons As a World Rally Championship driver, he also finished fourth at the Greek event last season, returning to the world circuit precisely in 2021, making his debut as a tandem with Carrera.

Among other factors, Dani Sordo had a big impact on the difficulty of the race. The ‘hot’ you experience ‘in and out of the car’ and the stiffness of the tires on some sections of the Acropolis. The area of ​​the route has to be smart and you don’t want to go looking for limits.”

The Acropolis Rally, the tenth round of the FIA ​​World Championship, takes place this weekend from 8 to 11 September and is divided into 16 stages, covering a total route of 303.3 km.

2019 world champion and Sordo’s Hyundai teammate Estonia’s Ott Tanak will be chasing a fourth win of the season alongside countryman Martin Järveoja as they seek a third successive title behind Finland and Belgium.

Tänak thus took a 72-point lead over championship leader Toyota’s Finnish driver Kalle Rovanpera with five victories. Rovanpera got his second chance at the Acropolis in the presence of Frenchman Sébastien Loeb to win the crown of world champions for the first time.

This first title makes the 21-year-old Nordic the youngest ever to win a WRC World Championship. The previous record was held by Britain’s Colin McRae, who was crowned in 1995 at the age of 27 years, 7 months and 25 days.

Thanks to five wins this season, Rovanpera (Toyota) leads the championship by a wide margin: 203 points to second place Estonian Ott Tänak (Hyundai) on 131 and Elfyn Evans (Toyota) on 116. .

The Finn will have a second chance as he wants to make up for his abandonment at the Ypres Rally (Belgium) where he could have won the title in mid-August.

To be crowned this weekend, the Toyota driver will need a 91-point lead over his closest rivals on Sunday night. With up to 30 points in a single event, this advantage would be out of hand in his final three rallies of the season.

Scenarios are still multiple as there are no four gatherings. But for the son of former driver and 2001 Swedish His Rally winner Harirovanpera, the potential is real.

Among them, if Rovanpera wins the rally by winning the Power Stage (a stage worth 5 bonus points in the championship) and Tänak finishes up to 5th without bonuses on Sunday, the Finn will be crowned champion. to get