Dani Sordo has only competed in a partial World Rally Championship campaign for the competitive Hyundai this season.
The Spaniard has been very impressive in the three rallies that Sordo has participated in after consistently challenging at the front.
Sordo has finished in the top five at all three of his events, including taking second and third place at the Acropolis Rally in Greece plus Rally Italia Sardegna.
Over the year, the Hyundai driver has shared the team’s third car with Andreas Mikkelsen and Finland’s Esapekka Lappi.
It gave the three-time rally winner another chance to experience the hybrid engines first introduced in 2022. But the WRC has confirmed it will drop the 130kW plug-in hybrid system after the 2024 season due to the rising costs.
Sordo has now told SoyMotor that he is pleased to see the hybrid systems depart the championship next season after a short stint in the WRC.
Dani Sordo is looking forward to the ‘strange’ hybrids leaving as they make WRC cars less agile
Since 2022, cars in the World Rally Championship have been using hybrid systems, which adds a new dimension to driving over a stage.
When putting the power down, the system adds 134 horsepower to the overall output, and energy is recovered under braking.
A downside of the system is that it can fail, and the cost of replacing it is very high. It also adds weight to the car, making it less agile when on the limit.
Sordo explained that the hybrid system’s weight is noticeable, but the electric power is good for sponsors and brands.
He said: “We’re going without a hybrid, with less weight, and the truth is that the car is going well. What you notice most is the weight. When you carry less weight, the car is much more agile and better to drive.
“The problem with the hybrid is not that it goes badly; it doesn’t work sometimes. When it fails, as happened to me in Greece, when it failed, and I had to do the whole rally without it, you have to buy a new hybrid… and all this has a cost.
“I understand that the hybrid system is good for the brands, but there comes a time when it is strange. They want to reduce costs, and these cars do not run twice as fast as the hybrid, but it is a small help that comes and goes.”
Hyundai are fighting for both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships at Rally Japan
Hyundai have been very competitive this season, and one of their drivers will lead the Korean manufacturer to the driver’s championship.
Thierry Neuville is on the verge of his first WRC title as he leads his teammate Ott Tanak by 25 points with a round to go.
Cyril Abiteboul explained Hyundai will support both Neuville and Tanak in the final round of the season in Japan.
It will be a tense weekend on the tarmac roads in Japan as Hyundai look to clinch both titles and usurp Toyota to the Manufacturers’ title.