Injured Sordo ready for Mexico return

Hyundai’s Dani Sordo insists he is ready to return to WRC competition, less than a month after breaking two ribs in a mountain biking accident.

The Spaniard fell from his bike during a training session early this month and was forced to miss Rally Sweden while he recovered at home.

But after a two day test in his i20 World Rally Car last week, the Spaniard was given the green light to return at the upcoming Rally Guanajuato Mexico, round three of the championship, which gets underway on 3 March.

“The accident was just one of those things,” Sordo told wrc.com. “It was not especially fast or anything, I just fell off and broke the ribs. I’m feeling much better now, and even after two days of testing I felt okay. Maybe it was a little bit uncomfortable in some places afterwards, but honestly for the driving it was perfect and I still have almost two weeks more for recovery.”

Sordo believes Mexico’s relatively smooth gravel stages and the location of his injury will also help him. “The ribs I broke are on my back and I think it would be more uncomfortable in the car - especially with the belts - if I had broken the ones on my front,” he explained. “Mexico is not so rough either. We drove some big compressions on the test and they were okay.”

Sordo is not the first WRC driver to be sidelined after a mountain bike accident. His former team-mate Sebastien Loeb missed four rallies in 2006 after breaking his arm, while Mitsubishi works team driver Alister McRae missed two rounds in 2002 after bruising his liver.

Sordo however does not believe rally drivers should be forced to take up something less dangerous to keep fit. “I guess you are lucky or unlucky,” he said. “I do a lot of mountain biking, and some days you fall off. I think it’s part of life. And it’s part of the sport that we need to do something. Usually cycling is good training!”