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Dani Sordo Reveals Reason Behind WRC Season Finale Co-Driver Switch
Highlights
- Dani Sordo’s new co-driver is Patricia Saiz for Sardinia rally.
- Saiz makes her World Rally Championship debut at age 27.
- Sordo and Saiz finished fourth at 2025 Ypres Rally together.
- Final WRC Rally1 event in Sardinia marks an era’s end.
- Sordo aims to win or podium at his familiar Sardinia rally.
Dani Sordo partners Patricia Saiz at the 2026 WRC season finale in Sardinia, replacing Candido Carrera. The Hyundai driver fields Saiz for her top-level debut this week.
Saiz, 27, already has rapport with Sordo. The pair combined at the 2025 Ypres Rally, finishing fourth overall and winning the RGT class during national outings together.
Sordo values Saiz’s clear, consistent delivery of notes, which he says sharpens his focus. He admits sadness at Carrera’s absence, yet stresses they remain close friends.
Saiz makes her World Rally Championship debut alongside Sordo at age 27.
Sardinia suits Sordo. He won there in 2019 and 2020 with Hyundai, and he characterizes the stages as narrow and technical, rewarding rhythm, precision, and efficient pace-note delivery.
Expect a proactive approach. Sordo sets a clear target of victory or a podium, leaning on familiarity with the gravel profile and sensitivity to evolving road conditions and tyre wear.
This rally also closes the chapter on Rally1 cars. For Hyundai, it caps an era of hybrid machinery that delivered wins and strategic learnings before regulations move into a new phase.
“The goal is simple: win or finish on the podium,” Sordo says of Sardinia’s finale.
For Saiz, the step is both pressure and opportunity. She frames the call-up as a dream realized, earned through sustained preparation. The pair continue together at Rally Legend in San Marino.
The finale carries championship implications, with teams intent on momentum before next-gen rules. That dynamic includes the title picture, headlined by stories like Oliver Solberg’s title push.
The broader landscape evolves off-stage as well, from interest around a potential new constructor to debate on revised tyre rules, shaping strategies for 2027 and beyond.
Sordo won Rally Italia Sardegna in 2019 and 2020, both with Hyundai.
All eyes focus on execution. Sardinia’s puncture risk, road cleaning, and note accuracy will test the new pairing. If cohesion holds, Sordo’s record suggests front-running potential remains intact.
Visual Summary
NEW
Sordo’s new chapter:
Patricia Saiz debuts as WRC co-driver
Patricia Saiz debuts as WRC co-driver
🚗 The final WRC battle in Sardinia sees veteran Sordo joined by rising star Saiz.
It’s her first-ever top-level world rally – and the last for the current Rally1 cars.
Will experience or fresh energy carry them to glory?
It’s her first-ever top-level world rally – and the last for the current Rally1 cars.
Will experience or fresh energy carry them to glory?
Saiz WRC Debut 🌟
Sordo: 2x Sardinia Winner
Last Rally1 Showdown
Sordo’s Sardinia Experience
2 wins • top contender
Patricia Saiz’s WRC Journey
Debut at world level
🔚 End of Rally1 Era
Hyundai’s final dance with these cars
Hyundai’s final dance with these cars
Zane Muniz writes across NASCAR, IndyCar, F1, IMSA, NHRA, and dirt-racing news. His breaking-news alerts and event previews ensure motorsport fans never miss a lap, drift, or drag-strip showdown.
