The Rally of Portugal begins today, the fourth round of the WRC 2022. This morning the Shakedown will be held on the 4.55 kilometer route called “Paredes”, while tonight, at 20:03 Italian time, there will be PS1, the show test of Coimbra which, however, will already rank.
Dani Sordo will be at the wheel of the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1. The Iberian driver will have a completely new i20 at his disposal because the damage suffered by Oliver Solberg’s Hyundai in the accident in Croatia forced the team to prepare a new chassis.
Solberg played the first three events of the season, therefore Monte-Carlo, Sweden and Croatia. Now it will be the turn of Dani Sordo, who will race in the first two races of the year on dirt. In addition to the Rally of Portugal, the native of Torrelavega will also be the owner of the Rally Italia Sardegna, a race that he has won twice in the last 2 editions.
Returning to Solberg’s car, after the accident in Croatia the car caught fire in the rear end and the warning lights that signal any malfunctions in the electric system of the hybrid propulsion had signaled a problem by activating the red light.
For this reason Solberg was unable to continue the Croatian race which was held on asphalt. Once back in Alzenau, the team and Compact Dynamics proceeded with the usual checks on the chassis and electrical system. The car appeared to be repairable, but the team preferred to prepare a new car that Sordo will be able to use from today at the Rally of Portugal.
Sordo, as well as his teammates Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak, was able to prepare for the Rally of Portugal thanks to the pre-event tests carried out a few days ago on the Lusitanian dirt roads. Dani will go in search of the sixth podium in Portugal, after having already won 5 with Citroen Racing first and Hyundai Motorsport then.
