The Spanish duo led from the third stage, won two of the day’s nine timed tests and managed their i20 WRC’s tyre wear well over the abrasive gravel tracks on the mountain roads around León and Guanajuato.
The drive of the day undoubtedly came from the nine-time World Champion Sébastien Loeb. The Frenchman belied his three years away from the WRC to record two stage wins and apply late pressure on Sordo for the top place on the podium. The Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver led third-placed Toyota GAZOO Racing team’s Ott Tänäk by 3.8 seconds.
Sordo said: “I expected to be in the fight. We were quick here last year. But Sébastien (Loeb) is coming at us really fast.”
Last year’s event winner Kris Meeke led after the first stage of the day and won two stages, but a couple of costly spins on the afternoon loop dropped the Ulsterman to fourth in the second of the C3 WRCs.
There was a tense tussle between Sébastien Ogier, the defending World Champion, and Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen. The Frenchman overcame his running order handicap to hold fifth at the end of the day by just 1.5 seconds.
Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala was seventh in the second Toyota Yaris until the alternator failed in Guanajuato city centre on the Finn’s journey back from the last of the day’s gravel stages. He had driven the entire Ortega stage with a battery warning light on.
Running first on the road was a miserable experience for current WRC leader Thierry Neuville. A fuel pressure problem and steering issues compounded the Belgian’s woes and he reached the overnight halt in seventh place, trailing leader Sordo by 2min 01.9sec.
Pontus Tidemand dominated the WRC2 category in his Škoda and reached the night halt in eighth overall, a comfortbale 3min 38.3sec in front of Ford’s Gus Greensmith, after Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä retired early on and Jari Huttunen suffered radiator damage.