FIA WRC'S biggest name set for Jordan
Amman, Jordan: Jordan's FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) round may be just over a year away but the sport's biggest star and most successful ever driver has confirmed he will be attending the Jordan Rally this year from May 10-12.
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb will provide local rally fans a taste of what's to come in 12 months when his Citroen team flies into Jordan for a reccie of the world-class stages two days prior to the Kingdom's biggest social and sporting event of the year.
"This is tremendous news," said HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Chairman of Jordan Motorsport. "The hype and interest surrounding our FIA WRC initiative is building but the confirmation of Loeb's participation will elevate it to the sort of levels we have never experienced before.
"He is a true superstar of the sport and a real champion so we are delighted that the Citroen team is coming a year early to find out for themselves what we will be offering the FIA WRC next year."
Loeb has won the FIA WRC Drivers crown for the last three years and was in a class of his own last year when he picked up the title with five rounds to spare; winning eight rallies in the process. The year also saw him surpass Spain's Carlos Sainz in the number of career rally victories (28) – some achievement at the age of just 33.
Known as the Michael Schumacher of rallying, Loeb is glacially cool, totally focused and sublimely quick in all conditions. However, Loeb's rise to superstar status has been somewhat more rapid than the German F1 Ferrari star. His first full season in the sport was in 2003 and a year later he picked up his first drivers title with six rally victories.
Last year, the former acrobat even had the luxury of missing the last four rounds with an injury having already secured the hat-trick of titles. This in a season when he was relegated to a privateer Citroen Xsara WRC!
The Citroen team will be carrying out reconnaissance in Jordan to give them a first look at the state-of-the-art stages constructed around the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. The new stages were unveiled for the first time in 2006 and received rave reviews from the competitors.
Loeb will not be competing in Jordan's round of the FIA Middle East Championship which will feature the region's best drivers from May 10-12, although it is expected that the team will stay to enjoy the famous Jordanian hospitality.
Loeb, driving a new WRC C4, is currently trailing Marcus Gronholm in the latest FIA WRC standings but with only two rallies down, few will be writing the Frenchman off just yet as Jordan Rally fans will see for themselves in May.
Jordan's FIA WRC initiative has become one of the highest profile sporting stories in the Arab World. The Kingdom will host the region's first ever round on March 30, 2008, with the promise to the FIA and its stakeholders that it can help to unlock the door to over 200 million Arab consumers across the Middle East and North Africa.
Jordan enjoys a rich history in rallying. The Late King Hussein was a committed competitor while His Majesty King Abdullah II won driving titles in the 1980's. Prior to taking over the management of motor sport, Prince Feisal was a successful co-driver and spearheaded Jordan's successful bid to become a part of the FIA WRC.