the spanish pilot Dani Sordo (Hyundai) will compete again this weekend within the world rally championship (WRC), particular to Acropolis Rally (Greece), which will be his third appearance of the season after two third place finishes in Portugal and Italy.
The 39-year-old Spaniard will be looking to continue a good run of results that has kept him tenth in the standings, with the aim, as he admits, to “get back into the top three” in podium of the Greek event, together with his co-driver Cándido Carrera.
Sordo, who will face his 17th straight season As a driver in the World Rally Championship, he will also have the experience of his fourth place last season in the Greek event, which returns to the world circuit in 2021, and where he debuted with Carrera as a tandem.
Among other elements, Dani Sordo has a big impact on the difficulty of the race, with the “high temperature” they will experience “inside and outside the car” or the hardness of the tires of some sections of the Acropolis: “In some area of the route you have to be smart and not want to look for limits.”
The Acropolis Rally is the tenth round of the FIA World Championship, it will take place this weekend from September 8 to 11 and will be divided into 16 stages, which will add up to a total route of 303.3 km.
Estonian Ott Tänak, the 2019 world champion and Sordo’s teammate at Hyundai, will be looking for his fourth victory of the season with his compatriot Martin Järveoja, third in a row after Finland and Belgium.
This way, Tänak can close in on championship leader Finnish Toyota driver Kalle Rovanperä, whose 5 wins give him a 72 point lead in the standings. Rovanperä has a second chance to be crowned world champion for the first time on this Acropolis, in the presence of Frenchman Sébastien Loeb.
This first title would make the 21-year-old Nordic the youngest driver to win the WRC World Championship so far. Until now, the record is held by Britain’s Colin McRae, who was crowned in 1995 at the age of 27 years, 7 months and 25 days.
Thanks to his five victories this season, Rovanperä (Toyota) leads the championship by a wide margin: 203 points against 131 for second-placed Estonian Ott Tänak (Hyundai) and 116 for Elfyn Evans (Toyota).
The Finn wants to make up for his abandonment of the Ypres Rally (Belgium), where he could win the title in mid-August, and have a second chance.
To be crowned this weekend, the Toyota driver must have a 91-point lead over his nearest rival by Sunday night. This advantage is undeniable in the last three rallies of the season, as a maximum of 30 points can be achieved in one event.
There are still many scenarios in the absence of four rallies. But the chances are real for the son of Harri Rovanperä, a former driver and winner of the Swedish Rally in 2001.
Between them, if Rovanperä wins the rally by winning the Power Stage (a stage worth five championship bonus points) and Tänak finishes as high as fifth on Sunday without the bonus, the Finn will be crowned champion.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
