Hyundai Retires Sordo for Fast Gravel Flexibility

Dani Sordo did not complete the 2026 Acropolis Rally Greece after Hyundai Motorsport made the strategic decision to retire his car before the Wolf Power Stage. The move was designed to provide the team with maximum flexibility ahead of the next two fast gravel rounds on the WRC calendar.

Sordo had started the weekend competitively, climbing to fourth position after Friday’s first full special stage. However, a puncture on the following test immediately removed him from the leading battle and cost the experienced Spaniard almost two minutes to the frontrunners.

He recovered to eighth overall by the end of Friday, although his deficit to the lead had already increased to almost three minutes. A second puncture on Saturday caused further time loss and also weakened his confidence in the tyres and the available grip.

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“It was a difficult rally for us. It started well, but the puncture on Friday took us out of the fight,” Sordo said.

“We lost even more time with our second puncture on Saturday, and after that we were no longer confident with the tyres or the grip,” he added.

Sordo began Sunday in a relatively secure eighth place. After two of the final day’s four stages, he trailed Elfyn Evans and Toyota by just over 40 seconds while retaining a margin of almost 55 seconds over Martins Sesks of M-Sport Ford.

With limited opportunity to improve his position and comfortable gaps on either side, Hyundai elected not to send Sordo into the Wolf Power Stage. The decision sacrificed a classified finish but gave the team greater freedom in managing the car and its technical programme before the following high-speed gravel events.

“In the end, we decided to retire the car before the Wolf Power Stage to give the team as much flexibility as possible for the next two fast gravel rallies,” Sordo said.

The championship resumes with Rally Estonia on July 16-19, where Esapekka Lappi will drive Hyundai’s third Rally1 car. After an Acropolis weekend shaped by punctures and reduced confidence in grip, Hyundai’s attention now shifts towards preparing its package for significantly faster gravel conditions.