Sordo wins Rali Serras de Fate as warm-up for Mexico
Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio have taken an assured victory at Rali Serras de Fate in their first outing with a Hyundai i20 R5 on gravel on 23 February.
The duo set the fastest times on 13 out of the 14 stages contested and won the rally by 1 min. 14 sec. over Portuguese driver Ricardo Teodósio.
Rali Serras de Fate was only the Spaniards' second competitive event with the Hyundai i20 R5 customer rally car, after scoring a podium on tarmac at the Barum Rally last year. They used the Rali Serras de Fate as an opportunity to get into competition mode ahead of their first WRC event of the 2019 season this weekend in Mexico.
Sordo was fastest on the Friday morning's qualifying stage and selected to start 12th on the road for the opening tests. The Spaniard dominated the first four stages, finishing the day in the lead by 18,1 seconds. Being first on the road on Saturday added an extra challenge, but using his extensive experience - and feeling more and more comfortable with the i20 R5 - he continued to amass stage wins to give the car the overall victory after more than 124 competitive kilometres.
Sordo and Hyundai Motorsport worked closely with Hyundai Portugal backed drivers Arminda Araujo and Bruno Magalhaes who finished seventh and sixth respectively, proving the performance and reliability of the Hyundai i20 R5.
Sordo said:
"Winning Rafi Serras de Fate in such style shows the strength and competitiveness of the Hyundai i20 R5 and gives us a timely confidence boost ahead of Rally Mexico. I felt quite comfortable with the car, which I had only driven once before, on tarmac at Barum Rally last year. It was really important for us to get into the rhythm before Rally Mexico."
Hyundai Motorsport team director Andrea Adamo said:
"This result is very important for Dani and Carlos as it represents a competitive start ahead of Rally Mexico, their first WRC event of the season. In only their second outing with the Hyundai i20 R5 they showed brilliant pace, won most of the stages and brought the car to victory."
