When Rebecca met Dani…

2nd November 2011

By Rebecca Jones

I’ve been fortunate enough to meet Mini’s Dani Sordo a couple of times, but today I saw a glimpse into the real Dani. A funny, kind, caring man who, like many men, shows little desire to grow up and an enduring passion for his big boy’s toys.

It’s just more than a week before Wales Rally GB and the Prodrive-run team is testing. This isn’t Dani’s favourite rally, due to the wet, rutted, gravel roads complete with ditches, rocks and trees, but after podium finishes in France and Germany and fourth in Spain, his spirits are high.

I ask him what he expects from himself and the car next year: he says he wants podiums and wins. So there we go.

Over lunch we chat about his car collection; a Mini Cooper D for nipping around town, a Jeep Wrangler for playing in the mountains near to the Basque region of Spain, a VW T5 Camper (on 19-inch wheels and lowered suspension) for transporting his motocross bike and jetski, a Mitsubishi Evo IX, a Porsche 911 GT3 (which, surprisingly, he’s not so keen on) and his baby, a BMW M3 CSL.

After lunch we return to the stage. Kris Meeke is out putting the car through its paces for the second half of the session and Dani is keen to watch his team-mate in action. We jump in his hire car and he proceeds to throw it around the stage with abandon, smacking the soft underbelly on the rough track, splashing through muddy puddles and tugging on the handbrake at any given opportunity. Poor Mr Avis.

We find our spot on the inside of a long corner and watch Kris slide the Mini up and down the hill, testing first tyres and then dampers. Like any good co-driver always does, Carlos del Barrio is quietly taking Kris’s times through the stage, as Dani talks about growing up karting and rallying in northern Spain, while working as a mechanic with his father.

But then Carlos appears a little confused. “I think something is wrong”, he says. Dani checks his watch and takes out his phone to call the engineers. As he does, the ambulance at the top of the hill takes off at phenomenal pace, sirens blazing, as its driver pitches the cumbersome vehicle through the sweeping corner at a speed that would satisfy either of the seasoned professionals.

Dani’s face shows instant panic as he fears for his friends. He runs to the hire car, but before he gets there, the call comes through to say that Kris has just stopped because a sensor has failed. The tangible relief on Dani’s face is remarkable. He laughs and suddenly all is well.

He is not only a true professional but a very caring and kind man as well: the side of a rally driver that not everybody gets to see.  He certainly gets the thumbs up from me…