Jari-Matti Latvala takes the risk

Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus WRC), during the Rally from Jordan, takes the same bet as that of Petter Solberg during the Rally of Mexico. In Central America, the Norwegian had built a solid lead during the first day, happily agreeing to open the road the next day. In two stages, he had seen Sébastien Loeb attack him in the general classification.

This Thursday, for the first day of the Jordan Rally, Jari-Matti Latvala started in the best possible way, with two scratch times. If Dani Sordo took the lead at the end of SS3, the Finn got back in front in the following special, before widening the gap in the general classification in the afternoon. Latvala has 30 seconds on his main opponents but will have to open the road on Friday. His lead could prove insufficient to maintain the lead throughout the day. However, he could be “sacrificed” by the other drivers to keep the role of opener for Saturday.

Petter Solberg (Citroën C4 WRC), long in the fight to take first place from Jari-Matti Latvala, slowed down at the end of the day, in order to fall back to fourth place and benefit from a less dusty road on Friday. Same tactic for Dani Sordo, who jumped to sixth position, behind Mikko Hirvonen, in order to be an important asset in Citroën's game. “ I slowed down at the end of the special, due to the strategy, confirmed Sordo upon his arrival. This is normal in gravel rallies, and Citroën wanted me after the Fords. »

Sébastien Ogier (Citroën C4 WRC), long fourth, has moved up to second place, having to continue driving to stay ahead of Sébastien Loeb (Citroën C4 WRC) and open the road for him on Friday. “ Maybe I fell into a wrong rhythm », commented mischievously the Citroën Junior Team driver. The two Sebs are 30 seconds behind Latvala but should not play for first place tomorrow. The difficult role of opener should thus be assumed during the last two days by the current leader.

Sébastien Loeb will have to manage his position on Friday, so as not to open the road again on Saturday. But this Thursday, the Frenchman, moving into first position, had no way of slowing down compared to his opponents. “ I can't do anything else, commented the Frenchman upon his arrival. If I slow down, they will slow down too. So I only have one thing to do, attack. » Thus, the six-time World Champion will benefit from an advantageous position but will have to wait until Saturday's special stages to make his biggest attack.

For his part, Kimi Räikkönen (Citroën C4 WRC) did not encounter any major problems this Thursday. The Finn finished the first day of competition in tenth position, at 3:50?? by Jari-Matti Latvala.