Jordan 2008

THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THE JORDAN RALLY HAS BEEN A W.R.C. EVENT AND IT IS THE FIRST TIME A MIDDLE EAST LOCATION HAS BEEN USED. THE TEMPERATURES ARE VERY HIGH (40+ºC) AND THE TYPE OF GRAVEL SURFACE IS UNIQUE - SOLID, DENSE, TIGHTLY PACKED UNDER-SURFACE (VIRTUALLY BEDROCK) WITH A COVERING OF VARIOUS SIZES OF GRAVEL. THE EFFECT IS TO CREATE A VERY SLIPPERY SURFACE WITH THE SURFACE GRAVEL ACTING ALMOST LIKE BALL-BEARINGS AS IT SLIDES ACROSS THE BASE. NEVERTHELESS, THE TEAMS WOULD HAVE TO COPE, WHICH THEY DID, AND THE TYRES WOULD HAVE TO STAND UP TO IT, WHICH AGAIN WAS ACHIEVED WITH ONLY A FEW PUNCTURES. TACTICS WOULD ALSO COME TO PLAY A LARGE PART IN THAT NO-ONE WANTED TO BE LEADER AND BECOME THE 'ROAD-SWEEPER' FOR THE REST OF THE FIELD.

TO THE ACTION! THERE WAS PLENTY OF IT, ONE INCIDENT BEING PARTICULARLY BIZARRE. AFTER A QUIET START ON DAY 1, SEBASTIEN LOEB RECOVERED WELL BUT IT WAS HIS TEAM-MATE, DANIEL SORDO, WHO LED AT THE END OF THE DAY, HOTLY CHASED BY THE TWO FORD DRIVERS. THE TWO SUBARU'S WERE ALSO LOOKING GOOD BUT BOTH SUZUKI'S WERE OUT AND HAD TO RE-ENTER ON DAY 2. THE TACTICS BECAME CLEAR ON DAY 2 AND REVOLVED AROUND THE PROBLEMS THAT WOULD BE ENCOUNTERED ON DAY 3, WHICH HAD NOT ONLY THE LONGEST STAGE OF THE RALLY BUT ALSO OF THE WHOLE CHAMPIONSHIP - 41.5 KM. IDEALLY, A DRIVER DID NOT WANT TO BE LEADING AT THE END OF DAY 2 OR HE WOULD LOSE A LOT OF TIME ROAD-SWEEPING ON DAY 3. ALTERNATIVELY, IF HE WAS LEADING GOING INTO DAY 3 THEN HE WANTED A BIG CUSHION OF TIME TO COMPENSATE FOR THE ANTICIPATED ROAD-SWEEPING LOSSES.

SEBASTIEN HAD DECIDED ON THE LATTER OPTION, MIKKO HIRVONEN ON THE FORMER AND, CONSEQUENTLY, SEBASTIEN ATTACKED HARD ON DAY 2 TO TAKE THE LEAD WITH A CUSHION OF 32 SECONDS BY THE END OF SS11. BUT IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS, HE WAS OUT OF THE RALLY FOLLOWING A HEAD-ON COLLISION WITH A FELLOW CITROËN DRIVER, CONRAD RAUTENBACH. HEAD-ON COLLISIONS ARE VERY RARE EVENTS IN W.R.C. TO SAY THE LEAST - AFTER ALL THE CARS FOLLOW EACH OTHER AT INTERVALS - BUT IN THIS CASE IT APPEARED TO BE AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. THE DRIVERS HAD TO USE THE SAME 'PUBLIC' ROAD SECTION TO DRIVE TO AND FROM THE STAGE BUT THIS ROAD SECTION WAS VIRTUALLY SINGLE TRACK AND, WHERE THEY COLLIDED, THEY WERE BOTH BRIEFLY UNSIGHTED. SEBASTIEN WAS LEAVING, CONRAD ARRIVING AND THE CLOSING SPEED WOULD NOT ALLOW MUCH TIME FOR AVOIDING ACTION!

SO, AT THE END OF DAY 2, DANIEL WAS IN THE LEAD (JUST) BECAUSE THE TWO FORD DRIVERS HAD SLOWED UP DELIBERATELY TO ENSURE THEY DID NOT HAVE TO SWEEP THE ROADS ON DAY 3. JARI-MATTI SUFFERED A CATASTROPHIC REAR SUSPENSION FAILURE THAT HE REPAIRED SUFFICIENTLY TO STAY IN THE RALLY BUT LOST A LOT OF TIME DRIVING SLOWLY THROUGH THE LONG STAGE. MIKKO TOOK THE LEAD DESPITE A BRAVE DRIVE BY DANIEL BUT EVENTUALLY HE HAD TO GIVE BEST TO MIKKO AFTER DRIVING INTO A SANDBANK. THEY FINISHED THE RALLY IN THAT ORDER WITH MIKKO RECORDING HIS FIRST WIN OF 2008 AND TAKING THE LEAD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND, MEANWHILE, CHRIS ATKINSON KEPT HIS HEAD AND KEPT HIS CAR ON THE ROAD TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS' MISFORTUNES AND FINISHED ON THE PODIUM YET AGAIN.

Rally Results posted by
David Little
28th April 2008

  The HTML code for this page has been validated by the World Wide Web Consortium.