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Dani Sordo believes Rally1 crews will simply have to “go and push” across the three days of Rally de Portugal despite the attack-minded approach running the risk of picking up costly punctures.
The Spaniard – who finished third on the event last season by turning around a six second deficit on the closing stage to deny Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta – is back in the Hyundai Motorsport team for round five of the FIA World Rally Championship.
If the weather remains dry on the Friday then his lower road position could prove advantageous because of the racing line that will be created – and cleaned – by those cars that are running in front of him.
Second time over the gravel speed tests could prove more problematic, however, as the soft, sandy nature of the roads tend to result in these cutting up – something the series veteran is all too aware off.
“Although the profile of the stage changes between runs, it is not so different in driving style,” he said. “You just go and push! Sometimes it can be very rough on the roads in the second pass. Personally, I take it a little bit carefully in those tricky places.
“But at some point, you need to dig really, really deep because the people in front are pushing like crazy – it doesn’t matter how bad the conditions are, they are going for it. Part of it is luck – you can easily pick up a puncture, but for us last year it paid off with a podium.”
He added: “Last year we saw that the roads had become a little bit rougher and we were suffering a lot with the temperatures – it was really hot in the rally.
“The rally is known for a good evolution of the stages between the first and second pass, you have more grip but they are more rough, which was risky for the cars, tyres and even the rims.”
For Sordo, Rally de Portugal is something of a home round given the number of people who make the trip south from his homeland to cheer him on.
He says that is one of the key motivating factors for him and why he wants to be on the event podium for a second successtive time come Sunday afternoon.
“It is always special. The roads have always been really nice, and the spectators travel from all over Portugal and Spain; they make the event really special,” said the two-time World Rally winner.
“It would be amazing to finish on the podium again next weekend; we felt we had the pace and potential in Mexico, so we want to be back in the fight for the top-three in Portugal.”
