Dani Sordo questions “stupid” WRC tyre rules amid compound mix up

The Hyundai driver called for a regulation re-think moving forward after a compound mix up in Portugal

Dani Sordo called for changes to the regulations after labelling the rules that forced World Rally Championship crews to select tyres 13 hours before they needed to be used as “stupid”.

WRC crews in Portugal had to make tyre choices for Friday morning’s opening loop immediately after Thursday evening’s stage three, which concluded at 7pm. A tyre fitting zone followed the stage, as Portugal’s rally itinerary didn’t include a return to service before the start of Friday’s leg due to the distance required for crews to cover to reach today’s stages.

However, a mistake during the tyre fitting zone on Thursday night meant that Sordo ended up with more hard tyres than the softs he had initially wanted to select. The error meant Sordo struggled for speed across the morning loop, while his Rally1 rivals enjoyed better performance on the soft rubber.

While frustrated by the incorrect tyre decision, Sordo took aim at the regulations that dictated tyre choices had to be made on Thursday night instead of Friday morning.

"We did a mistake yesterday, we put hard tyres instead of soft,” said Sordo. “Anyway, the guys who made the rules to set the tyres the day before – it's completely mad.

“No explanation. In F1 they don't put the tyres two days before! There's no point in doing this. We want to do a good spectacle. We need all the confidence to the meteo [weather] guy. This is not rally, just strategy. We want to push and make people happy with pushing using the right tyre.

“We want to drive, we want to push and make people happy in the stages by pushing with the right tyres. This is a stupid thing; for the future they can modify it.”

Daniel Sordo is not happy with the WRC tyre choice rules

Photo by: Miguel Lemos /NurPhoto via Getty Images

While crews having to select tyres several hours before stages is not a new regulation in the WRC, the FIA explained the reasons why a tyre fitting zone could not be held on Friday morning.

“The Friday itinerary included the Arganil remote service, which required the relevant service infrastructure and tyre equipment to be in place ahead of the first cars entering service on Friday morning,” said an FIA spokesman in a statement issued to Motorsport.com. “As a result, it was not possible to hold a tyre fitting zone in the morning and then relocate the necessary equipment to Arganil.

“This is a standard logistical consideration when a remote service is included in the itinerary. Crews were able to make their tyre selections on Thursday evening and have the opportunity to change tyres and adjust their strategy during the morning remote service.”