Finland's Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen clinched victory on the final stage of a thrilling 2008 Jordan Rally to move into the outright lead of the FIA World Rally Championship after three days of action over the sinuous gravel trails near the Dead Sea.
"It's a fantastic feeling to win the rally, but Dani (Sordo) pushed me all the way," said Hirvonen, who duly clinched his fifth WRC win by a margin of 1 minute 15.7 seconds. "On the last stage I did not know his split times, so I was not sure if he was still pushing. Now I lead the championship and that is a good feeling."
Jordan's first entry into the world's premier rally championship produced one of the most exciting events in the history of the series. Spaniards Dani Sordo and Marc Marti pushed the Ford crew all the way and led at the end of days one and two before finishing second overall.
Running first on the road cost the Citroen duo dearly over the slippery surfaces, but they completed the 22 special stages well clear of the third-placed Australian Chris Atkinson and his Belgian co-driver Stephane Prevot.
"I gave it my best go," said Sordo. "When I missed a braking point on the last stage and had a spin I knew it was over and time to make sure I finished."
Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila ruined their chance of taking victory when damaged suspension cost them valuable minutes, but Norwegian Henning Solberg, Britain's Matthew Wilson and Argentina's Federico Villagra completed the top six.
The UAE's Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi looked set to become only the second Arab driver in WRC history to gain an FIA Drivers' Championship point - Saudi Arabia's Abdullah Bakhashab earned a point for sixth in the 2000 Acropolis Rally - but he punctured three tyres in the final Jordan River stage and slipped from seventh to ninth and out of the points.
Frenchman Sebastien Ogier clinched a second successive JWRC victory, when Estonian Jaan Molder rolled on the penultimate stage.
Al-Qassimi's half brother Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi won the non-championship Group N category after the UAE's Sheikh Suhail Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum retired from 12th place on the penultimate stage.
World champion Sebastien Loeb restarted day three under the Supe Rally ruling and finished 10th.
Source: Xinhua
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