Hirvonen reclaims World Championship lead

BP Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen reclaimed the lead in the World Rally Championship after posting his first win of the season at the inaugural event in Jordan.

Entering the final leg more than 10 seconds down on overnight leader Dani Sordo (Citroen), the 27-year-old Finn put in a measured performance to take the win by 75 seconds from his Spanish rival, who made an error on the last stage.

Hirvonen’s team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala lost 10 minutes to suspension trouble on the final leg which paved the way for Subaru’s Chris Atkinson to take the final podium position.

Britain’s Matthew Wilson capped a fine drive by bringing his Stobart Ford home in a season-best fifth place.

But the day belonged to Hirvonen, who profited from Sebastien Loeb’s freak retirement yesterday to reclaim the championship lead the Frenchman took from him at the last round in Argentina.

Hirvonen now leads the drivers’ standings on 35 points, five clear of Loeb, who is tied with Atkinson for second.

“We hung on in the end,” Hirvonen admitted. “It was so nerve-wracking in the last stage. We didn’t have any split times, so I didn’t have a clue how fast Dani was going.

“I just tried to drive cleanly and not make any mistakes.

“It’s very, very important for the championship. I lost important points in Argentina and now I’ve managed to make it up.

“Sebastien is still a big threat though. He was very fast here, so we need to find some more speed for the next events.”

Loeb surrendered the lead yesterday after he crashed into the PH Sport-Citroen of Conrad Rautenbach on a narrow access road leading away from stage 11.

The reigning champion took to the track this morning under SupeRally regulations but could finish only 10th and out of the points despite winning three of today’s stages.

Loeb’s demise allowed Sordo back into the lead but he was overhauled by Hirvonen and Latvala before the Finnish duo slowed on yesterday’s final stage to ensure the Citroen man was first to run on the dusty track this morning.

The Ford pair’s dubious tactics paid off as Sordo struggled for grip on the final leg while Hirvonen and Latvala shared four stage wins between them.

Henning Solberg was fourth after finally getting the upper hand in his race-long battle with team-mate Wilson when the Briton was delayed by a puncture this morning.

Federico Villagra (Munchi’s Ford) was sixth ahead of Latvala, while Stobart Ford’s Gigi Galli rounded out the point-scorers in eighth.

Elsewhere, Scotland’s Barry Clark impressed following his last-minute call-up to the Munchi’s Ford team, finishing 13th overall.