Portugal, are you ready for this? Not, but seriously… are you ready for this? The last two decades have vanished and two of rallying’s hottest properties are back and ready to go at it again.
Step forward Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo. For the Junior World Rally Championship, read the Portuguese Championship and for Kronos Racing read the Caetano Group. Meeke’s in a Toyota, Sordo a Hyundai. Eight rounds. Let’s go.
I say again, Portugal, are you ready for this?
Cynics, sceptics and millennials might wonder why this matters. If we’re brutally honest, it wasn’t a tooth and nail, season-long scrap that pulled in rivals from an array of manufacturers. Citroën’s C2 was a big-budget class act with plenty of input from folk like Alexis Avril, who stepped down from the all-conquering Xsara WRC to run the Junior show.
So what made Juniors in 2005 so good? In short, it was the development of two drivers who would shape some of rallying’s finest storylines for the next 20 years. More than that, two drivers who would become the best of mates and a couple of the coolest kids on the block.
Back in the day, it was clear one of these two would be moving into the big league. There was a Junior title on the table, yes, but it was the opportunity to forge a longer-term relationship with an evolving titan of that time: Citroën.
In his third year in Juniors Meeke was very much hare in the pack and a magnificent Monte Carlo win underlined that pace and potential. Consistently through the season, the Northern Irishman was incredibly quick. If he got through a stage trouble-free, he was invariably fastest. Sordo was new to the top level, but he was the quickest of learners.
Sordo's done a fair few rallies since he looked like this in 2005!
Finland was a case in point. Meeke charged at it, showing the Finns how to drive their own roads before he crashed in Ouninpohja. Sordo had dialled his C2 back a notch and delivered the win on only his third gravel rally.
By the end of the year, Sordo was champion and bound for a long-stretch alongside Sébastien Loeb. Meeke lost his seat, regrouped and kept at it. It took him a season or two longer, but he and Sordo were reunited in factory Prodrive Minis. As Sordo turned to Hyundai, Meeke was back among the familiar faces at Citroën. And that’s where this history lesson ends.
The stats and stage wins are there for all to see. Behind them sits a story of absolute friendship. Living as near neighbors in Andorra, the next adventure, be it on a bike – with or without an engine– side-by-side or skis is never far away.
I’ve been fortunate to chart both of their careers from the very start to right now. Being around them is infectious, when they’re together and relaxed it’s impossible to take them seriously. The pair of them still stand back and marvel at the career they’ve carved – two decades of doing what they absolutely love. And now this.
Sordo and Meeke became team-mates again during Mini's brief stint in the WRC
“It’s surreal, eh?” laughed Meeke as we pondered the next chapter of the storybook season to come.
“I’m getting to drive a top-line Rally2 car in one of the best national series in the world – and I’m doing it against one of my best mates. Me and Dani, competing against each other again 20 years on. It’s mega, but, like I said, it’s surreal.”
For Sordo, the feeling is exactly the same.
“I’ve known Kris for my whole time in the sport,” said the Spaniard. “He’s an incredible competitor and such a good guy. He is always giving it absolutely everything. Everything he does.”
The excitement between the pair of them is only just beginning. What will follow is no end of messages winding each other up and then a classic season-long fight.
Oh, and pure fun between two fierce competitors and the best of friends.
So, come on Portugal, who’s your money on?
