Daniel Sordo won his duel with
Henning Solberg on the final day of the Rally of Turkey on Sunday, securing fourth spot - and the five points that goes with it, by 8.1 seconds.
Sordo set top-five times throughout in his 'works'
Citroen C4 WRC, but unfortunately for the Spaniard he lost nearly a minute in the middle loop on Friday with a rear left puncture and suspension damage, which was sustained on SS7.
Dani put in a charge on day two though, and despite another puncture in SS11, which cost him 20 seconds, he quickly hauled himself back up the leaderboard from eighth.
In the end he finished day two back in fifth - 6.6 seconds off Henning, after doing just what Ford did on day 1, by easing off in SS15 - the final 'proper' test - to ensure he would start behind the
Stobart man on Sunday and thus have a better road position.
On the third leg, Sordo made quick work of Henning, passing him in SS17, the first run through the long 31.03 kilometre Olympos test and then pacing himself to the finish in Kemer.
"I am very happy that we did it [and secured fourth in the first test today]. We then set our times based on those of our opponent. At the end of this difficult weekend, this result is good for me," reflected Sordo.
"Our C4 was competitive and we put in some good stage performances. I forced myself to take care of my tyres and I think we made further progress in driving on the loose. Now I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and the prospect of the three asphalt rallies to come."
Henning meanwhile wasn't unhappy with fifth and while he didn't feel as comfortable on day's two and three, after his mechanics had to change the gearbox, he was pleased to go into the summer break having notched up 4 more points.
"I'm very, very happy; fifth place here is great and I have been so pleased with my driving," he added. "It's been a tough rally and we have had to manage the tyres well for the whole time. The first day felt great and it was a good feeling to set a fastest time.
