Sordo sidelined by technical issue

Hyundai's Dani Sordo has had to retire from day two of Rally Italia Sardegna with a "technical issue" leaving him unable to start SS14.

The Spaniard, who had been running fourth until he lost a wheel in the final stage on Friday, had re-joined this morning under Rally 2, albeit now down in P19. However, after completing SS13, he reported an issue with the fuel pump and was then unable to start the engine before the following stage.

"We have a problem with the fuel pump - it is cutting out all the time," he remarked after Coiluna-Loelle 1. "When there is no pressure the car loses power."

Sordo's i20 WRC was subsequently recovered to service, where a fuel leak was diagnosed, and he will now re-join again on Sunday.

"We started the day with a good feeling in the car," he continued back in service. "Obviously it wasn't quite as positive as Friday when we were fighting for the podium and leading stage times but we were feeling comfortable. We only managed to complete two stages properly because we had a fuel pressure problem, which meant we couldn't keep the car going once we'd finished SS13.

"The car has been good and we've seen what has been possible so it's a shame to have had to retire. We will look to finish on a positive note when we return on Sunday."