Dani Sordo

Nationality Spanish
World Rally Championship record Active years 2003–present
Teams Citroën, Mini
Rallies 84
Championships 0
Rally wins 1
Podiums 35
Stage wins 131
Total points 583
First rally 2003 Rally Catalunya

Career Info

Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo (born May 2, 1983 in Torrelavega, Cantabria) is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for the Mini WRC Team. He has yet to claim his maiden victory in the WRC despite having raced in the one of the best teams for four years.

Sordo began in motocross when he was 12 years old, but also experienced success with 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), 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, now being paired 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 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 Sebastien 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.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 July 12, 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. 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 Dani 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, while in Rally Bulgaria, Sordo finished in second place behind his team leader Loeb, giving his Citroen team their first one-two finish of the season. However, he will be replaced by Sebastien Ogier for the remaining gravel events of the season in the works team, and will be demoted to the Citroen 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 Dani Scored another 2nd place podium. In the following Rally in Japan he finished 4th and in Rally Alsace 2nd again. He is currently 5th in the standings and has 53 points if using the old scoring system with 2 rounds remaining until the end of the season. At the end of the season he has 63 points using the old scroing system in 5th place.