Can you imagine having your own racetrack in your backyard where you can play with your favorite cars, and being able to invite your friends over for one big end-of-season rally-themed party?
It may sound like a dream, but that’s exactly what happened last weekend at Circuito LaRoca, just outside Santander in northern Spain.
The backyard in question was Dani Sordo’s. The Hyundai World Rally Championship driver was born and raised in Cantabria, and his family owns the LaRoca facility – which consists of both an excellent karting track and a purpose-built rally superspecial stage, jump included.
On the guest list? A host of Spanish rally stars, rally show specialists, World Touring Car Cup winner Mikel Azcona, and Sordo’s fellow i20 N driver Thierry Neuville. Oh, and half of Cantabria it would seem.
But if you were a driver, a place on the list wasn’t free. There was one strict door policy for this party. Bring a car, and make it a loud one if you can. The guests willingly obliged.
Neuville brought along two of his favored toys – a Peugeot 306 Maxi Formula 2 Kit Car and a newly-built BMW M3 E30 – which were complemented by several more examples of both legendary machines.
There were Citroën and Ford WRC cars, classics like Escorts Mk2s, Paolo Diana’s mad Fiat 131 and an Audi Quattro replica, custom-made buggies powered by screaming two-stroke engines, and a host of Rally2 cars from the Spanish Rally Championship.
And to top it all, Hyundai even threw in the i20 N WRC+ car that Sordo took to consecutive Rally Italy Sardinia victories in 2019 and 2020.
With cars, stars and fans assembled at LaRoca, there was only one logical thing to do: see who was the fastest.
The Sordo-devised ‘Carrera de Campeones’ (Race of Champions) took place over two days, with Saturday consisting of an open practice, followed by a Sunday showdown of head-to-head battles over a single lap of the circuit, with cars setting off at half-lap intervals. Fastest goes through, and the loser is eliminated.
Now in its fourth year, the event has grown significantly in its short life.
“We start some years before,” Sordo told DirtFish. “It was a small event, and the first year it was really nice. The second year we bring the Hyundai World Rally Car. But then we make another year, and it was all very normal.
“So then this year, we say we want to make a step up.”
And step up they have, with the show now boasting an enviable line-up of cars and drivers. Quite some achievement for this small, family-run facility.
“It’s the circuit of the family,” said Sordo. “We work here for a long time to develop it, since 20 years already. And we make it better and better all the time with the family, with a small team and friends.
“And yeah, we organize things with such a small amount of people. I’m proud of the people and what they are doing.
“We’d like to make it bigger,” Sordo added, “But we can’t do bigger because we need a little more sponsorship to make it bigger, to bring people, to bring cars.
“But honestly, we don’t have a lot of things to make it bigger. But Thierry and all the drivers, they come to support us. Hyundai, they help a lot and let us bring here the World Rally Car.”
For Neuville, the event ticked two boxes: the fulfillment of a long standing promise to a friend, and a perfect place to test out his beloved new purchases.
“When Dani started it a few years ago,” explained a relaxed Neuville as he waited for another turn around the LaRoca track, “he always told me, ‘Ah you should come once’.
“And then suddenly he tells me [this year], ‘We do it a bit bigger now’, and I think Hyundai came here already last year.
“So I said: ‘Yeah, I can come’. For me it’s going to be fun. Driving with my cars, bringing some friends and just try to enjoy.
“It’s quite chilled. Nice place, to be honest. Nice circuit, beautiful view today with the weather, better weather.
“I’m enjoying it. It’s a good occasion to get the cars driving a little bit – without driving it too much, to damage them!”
The better weather to which Neuville alluded was a welcome relief for all, not least Sordo and his team, who had worked tirelessly for days to get the circuit ready for racing as the rain continued to pour in northern Spain
“The last week was really busy,” commented Sordo. “We were working like hell with my friends; it rained every day. It took many hours to prepare all the circuit.
“And then at one point we were a little bit sad because it was raining, raining, raining and raining. But in the end we see OK, maybe Sunday is good weather. So luckily we have this weather.”
For Sunday’s shootout, the sun shone over LaRoca, revealing the beautiful backdrops of the snow-topped mountains of Los Picos de Europa National Park to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.
As spectacular as the views were though, all eyes were on the track for the hoards of enthusiastic fans who packed out the grandstands, hillsides and everything in between.
First up was the battle of the BMWs. Neuville in his new M3 on wet tires, up against man of the hour Sordo in his own M3 on slicks. It was no contest, with the local star giving the crowd plenty of sideways action, but ultimately losing out to the Belgian.
Next was an Escort vs. Diana’s 131 for the battle of the 1970s. Italy took that victory, which was followed by an intriguing tussle between a 306 Maxi and a Hyundai i20 R5.
The modern machinery won out, but what rolled out onto the LaRoca circuit next was even more unusual. Neuville’s FIA Cross Car, effectively an off-road buggy and one of the wildest of the machines on display, with none other than the ever-smiling Martijn Wydaeghe behind the wheel.
“Yeah it wasn’t planned, I was supposed to drive it!” exclaimed Neuville, for whom Wydaeghe co-drives in the WRC. “But finally I said [to him] if you want to give it a go, and he was looking forward to giving it a go.
“And he’s doing well actually! I was surprised seeing him driving.”
At least the 19-time WRC event winner now knows that the man who usually sits beside him calling the notes can handle the driving duties if he ever needs to, and pull some nice slides in the process.
The knockout rounds of the competition were interspersed with show runs for various cars, including Sordo in his i20 N WRC giving rides to lucky guests and showing some serious commitment around the track that he helped build.
The fans never stopped cheering for Sordo all day, and the sight of one of the fastest rally cars of all time launching over jumps is something that never really gets boring.
But while the battles continued as the day went on, it’s fair to say the Race of Champions – despite its name – isn’t really about the competition. There was something far more important going on here.
This event was about fun; about putting on a show for the hometown fans that have supported Sordo for so long, and about bringing together some of the rallying community for a celebration after another long, hard season.
And while he may have enjoyed demonstrating some of his favorite cars in front of the cheering crowd, Sordo certainly wasn’t here just to drive. Far from it. Over the weekend at LaRoca he wore more hats: event organizer, host, car park attendant, circuit spokesperson… And even more importantly: friend, husband and son.
This was a Dani Sordo that you don’t see on WRC weekends. Passionate about giving something back to the sport; passionate about the project of building this special facility with those closest to him; passionate about creating a social event at the end of the WRC calendar.
And absolutely committed to making sure that every single person inside LaRoca on Sunday had a brilliant time.
“It’s difficult to drive at the same time as you make the organization,” said the Hyundai driver, commenting on juggling his roles. “You want to control all.
“Some other people want to drive, and also I want to control everything for myself and make sure the people are happy – because it’s very important to me, that people when we finish the event, they are happy and they go home happy.”
Judging by the smiles on the faces of the drivers and fans alike, Sordo had certainly achieved that.
“At the moment it’s quite good, yeah, really good,” reflected Sordo. “We are proud of how it’s working at the moment. I think it will be difficult for next year to make a step up!
“With the organization I already see some things I think we can improve, but next year will definitely improve. It’s going well now but we want to do better next year.”
But how? What could possibly top this year’s entertainment?
Well, it turns out that Sordo has a few more favors he intends to call in.
“This year Kalle [Rovanperä, WRC champion] was really close to coming. And Seb Loeb, he said the problem was he was away, but if not he would come absolutely.
“Ogier, it was his son’s birthday. But really everybody was really like ‘I’m ready to come’.”
Throwing the extra 19 WRC championships between those drivers into the mix would certainly do the trick. In fact, then it really would be the Race of Champions.
“But the thing is,” Sordo added, previewing his masterplan for next year, “we need to find a solution to make sure that everybody is driving in something with no brand.
“It’s difficult to bring, for example Ogier or Kalle, because with the brand they are, they are Toyota, you can’t bring a Toyota obviously.”
That’s due to the fact that Hyundai supports the event.
But the world’s best rally drivers, in a shootout, in equal machinery? Plus some Spanish sun in December? It’s mouth-watering stuff, and an event no rally fan on earth would want to miss.
But whatever 2024 brings for La Carrera de Campeones and Circuito LaRoca, I’m sure it will be absolutely fantastic.
Because the man in charge is committed to making his place, and his race, one of the biggest parties on the rallying calendar.
