TEXT FPO - Driving Sports TV

MOTORSPORTS
UnKnOWn teRRItORY GReeteD competitors in
Jordan as the WRC reached the Middle east for the
first time – and there was plenty of drama to make it
a debut to remember.
The roads in Jordan presented great challenges
for crews, being quite unlike anything experienced
elsewhere on the WRC calendar. The road surface is
as hard as asphalt, but with grip more reminiscent
of a gravel event. The Pirelli tires used by all teams
struggled for grip, and tire wear, exacerbated by the
heat, was high.
after taking part in the Rally Jordan recce last
year, Petter solberg used his experience to share
the early lead with Citroën’s Dani sordo. although
he slipped down the order over the next four stages,
the norwegian was still holding his own until disaster
struck.
Forced to go off-road to avoid a large rock over
an unsighted crest on ss5, solberg retired at the end
of the next stage because of broken front suspension.
he was able to restart under supeRally regulations,
but the subsequent time penalty meant he
was 16 minutes behind the leaders.
as it turned out, the poor run of luck that has
blighted solberg’s season continued on Leg two.
suffering rear damper problems and then a leaking
brake caliper, his rally finally came to an end on
ss16 when he slid off the road into a ditch, rolling a
couple of times for good measure.
Meanwhile, a cautious but consistent drive from
Chris atkinson was enough to give him his fourth
podium of the season, as he benefited from the misfortune
of drivers ahead of him.
The australian slid off the road and suffered a
spin on Leg One, but did enough to finish the day
in fifth. ahead of fourth to sixth places by a big gap,
atkinson knew his job was to hold position and see
what happened on the second day of the gruelling
rally that was being run in in-car temperatures of
more than 40 degrees Celsius.
In the end, he didn’t have to wait too long,
thanks to a bizarre accident on ss11. after setting
the fastest time on the stage, rally leader sébastien
Loeb collided with Conrad Rautenbach in a narrow
part of the road section. both cars were immediately
sidelined.
This put sordo in front with Jari-Matti Latvala
and Mikko hirvonen second and third, respectively,
and atkinson promoted to fourth. The Ford driv-
88 July 2008
ers quickly overtook sordo, but on the final stage of
the day both slowed dramatically to allow the Citroën
driver to retake the lead. This gave them road
advantage for the final and longest Leg of the rally,
because now sordo was first driver on the road; he
was effectively clearing the surface. Citroën were
furious.
Ford’s hopes of a one-two were dashed on Leg
Three, though, when Latvala slipped down the order
after he damaged his suspension, hitting a rock
on ss18. hirvonen took the lead and held on for his
first victory of the season ahead of a disconsolate
sordo, while atkinson enjoyed the fruits of a consistent
drive with a well-deserved third place.
—David Hobbs