The Latest Breaking News from Dani Sordo

The weaknesses of the team's i20 N Rally1 were made clear in Kenya last weekend after Esapekka Lappi suffered three prop shaft failures followed by another problem that left the Finn with only two-wheel drive.

The eight-time world champion and co-driver Vincent Landais came under pressure from championship leader Rovanpera across Sunday’s final six stages to clinch his third win of a partial 2023 WRC campaign by 6.7s. The margin was the closest in the event’s 70-year history.

Eight-time world champion Ogier started the day 0.1s behind overnight leader Tanak but headed to midday service with a 2.5s lead over Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera.

The rally has prided itself on being one of the WRC’s jewel in the crown events given its difficulty to win. Its unique stages feature a mix of rough gravel and soft sandy roads sprawled across Kenya’s iconic wildlife-filled savannah. amid changeable weather, poses an altogether different challenge for crews.  

Top Performer - Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm

The team is currently searching for at least one driver to join its WRC ranks to share the third i20 N with Dani Sordo following the tragic loss of Craig Breen in a Rally Croatia testing accident in April.

Despite holding a healthy 36.4s overnight lead, Neuville elected to push while the majority of his rivals opted to preserve their cars and tyres.

Ogier started the day 0.1 seconds behind Lappi but managed to overhaul the Finn to take an 18.2s lead into the afternoon.

The Finn revealed in the buildup to the rally that he intended to try an experimental set-up he’d discovered in testing prior to the event.