World Rally
Rally Jordan review
Ford's Mikko Hirvonen has won the first ever Jordan Rally after the current WRC champion Sebastian Loeb suffered a bizarre head-on collision with another rally car.
The Frenchman's highly competitive run through the desert kingdom's dramatic landscape ended abruptly on day two when his Citroen C4 smashed into the C4 of Conrad Rautenbach between stages. No one was hurt in the low-speed impact, but the two damaged cars had to be retired before rejoining on day three with heavy time penalties.
With Loeb sidelined, his Citroen teammate Dani Sordo started day three in the lead ahead of Hirvonen (pictured, right) and fellow Finn Jari-Matti Latvala. However, the two Ford drivers had played it canny by allowing Sordo to win on the last stage of day two, forcing the Spaniard to start first on each of the final stages.
With Sordo's Citroen sweeping the worst of the desert debris from the treacherous roads, Hirvonen was able to leapfrog him and take the win in a tense finale to the rally. Latvala wasn't so lucky: broken suspension on stage 18 dropped him to seventh on the overall leaderboard.
Subaru's Chris Atkinson never seriously challenged for the lead, but the Aussie kept his nose clean to take third, his fourth podium finish this season. Teammate Petter Solberg's run of misfortune continued with a dramatic roll in the Impreza on the second day stemming from a leaky brake caliper. However the prize for biggest heart-in-mouth moment came from Rautenbach, whose spin on stage nine very nearly sent the Zimbabwean hurtling down one of the many vertiginous mountainsides.
With the Suzuki drivers compiling yet another nightmare list of breakdowns and crashes, it was Ford who came away smiling the broadest after grabbing six of the top eight positions. Stobart's Henning Solberg took fourth in his Focus, followed by Brit Matthew Wilson. The 21-year-old had to change a wheel on stage 19, but just managed to hold off Federico Villagra in sixth. Hirvonen's win puts him ahead of Loeb by five points in the driver's standings, and places Ford in front of Citroen in the manufacturer's title contest.
In the Junior class, Citroen C2 driver Sebastien Ogier scored a second win despite an engine problem on day one. The feisty Frenchman has now won both of the J-WRC events this season after the leader Patrik Sandell broke the suspension on his Renault Clio on the final day. Irishman Shaun Gallagher was a fine second in his Citroen C2, despite gearbox problems.
Jordan's female rally driver Abir Al-Batikhi finished 33rd in her Subaru Impreza, avoiding the fate of 21 entrants who failed to complete the gruelling rally.
With Sordo's Citroen sweeping the worst of the desert debris from the treacherous roads, Hirvonen was able to leapfrog him and take the win in a tense finale to the rally. Latvala wasn't so lucky: broken suspension on stage 18 dropped him to seventh on the overall leaderboard.
Subaru's Chris Atkinson never seriously challenged for the lead, but the Aussie kept his nose clean to take third, his fourth podium finish this season. Teammate Petter Solberg's run of misfortune continued with a dramatic roll in the Impreza on the second day stemming from a leaky brake caliper. However the prize for biggest heart-in-mouth moment came from Rautenbach, whose spin on stage nine very nearly sent the Zimbabwean hurtling down one of the many vertiginous mountainsides.
With the Suzuki drivers compiling yet another nightmare list of breakdowns and crashes, it was Ford who came away smiling the broadest after grabbing six of the top eight positions. Stobart's Henning Solberg took fourth in his Focus, followed by Brit Matthew Wilson. The 21-year-old had to change a wheel on stage 19, but just managed to hold off Federico Villagra in sixth. Hirvonen's win puts him ahead of Loeb by five points in the driver's standings, and places Ford in front of Citroen in the manufacturer's title contest.
In the Junior class, Citroen C2 driver Sebastien Ogier scored a second win despite an engine problem on day one. The feisty Frenchman has now won both of the J-WRC events this season after the leader Patrik Sandell broke the suspension on his Renault Clio on the final day. Irishman Shaun Gallagher was a fine second in his Citroen C2, despite gearbox problems.
Jordan's female rally driver Abir Al-Batikhi finished 33rd in her Subaru Impreza, avoiding the fate of 21 entrants who failed to complete the gruelling rally.
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