Dani Sordo delivered on his promise to go for victory on Rallye Deutschland, but will his maiden win in the World Rally Championship be enough to secure his future at Citroen?
That’s the question facing Citroen team principal Yves Matton, who this week began the process of choosing his driver line-up for 2014.
After Rallye Deutschland, Matton was full of praise for the Spaniard, who re-joined the French manufacturer’s works team at the start of the year.
“He did exactly what I expected from him,” said Matton. “When we signed him, the plan was to let him score his first win with us and the idea was to win on tarmac. For him, the start of the rally was not so easy because of his road position, but his speed was getting better and better. On Saturday he impressed me. He was fast in the dry in the morning and also fast in the rain in the afternoon.”
But after Sordo’s run of poor form on gravel events, which led to him being dropped by the team for Rally Australia, Matton refused to say whether the win was enough to secure him a place in the squad next year.
“[The win] is an important point, for sure, but it is only one of the points. When you sign somebody, you want him to win, but there are other factors playing a role here,” he explained.
Sordo, meanwhile, isn’t jumping to any conclusions. Asked whether he thought the win would help him secure a drive for next year, he said: “I don’t know, but I am really happy with the victory. If it helps me for next year, then it is good, but if not, so be it. Having this victory is just very nice.”