JORDAN RALLY 1 – 3 APRIL 2010 FIA SUPER 2000 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (FOR DRIVERS) ROUND 3 OF 10 STATISTICS 1. Event Summary 4. Driver Championship Standings 2. Driver Quotes 5. Team Championship Standing 3. Results (Event) 6. Next Round 1. EV ENT SUMMARY Two in a row for Xevi Pons in Jordan In Jordan Rally, his second event of the season, Spanish Ford Fiesta driver Xevi Pons and his co-driver Alex Haro took their second win in a row in the 2010 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship. Despite not having tested since México, Pons was the only S-WRC driver not to retire on any day of the three day event. He only claimed three stage wins (SS5-7), but Pons’ consistency and increasing familiarity with his Fiesta scooped him a comfortable win and 25 accompanying S-WRC points. With a maximum 50 points, he now sits comfortably at the top of the S-WRC leader board. Against the odds, Norwegian Eyvind Brynildsen came in a clear second ahead of fellow Škoda driver P-G Andersson (SWE), who took the last place on the podium. Despite finishing nearly 12 minutes behind winner Pons, Brynildsen was happy with his performance, after a rear differential problem forced him to miss the final stage of Day One and then complete the rally with the car effectively stuck in front-wheel drive. Swedish driver Andersson headed up the rest of the S-WRC field, only six of whom completed the rally, to take points after a weekend of mayhem. Seven retirements on Day One alone left Fiesta drivers Bernardo Sousa (PRT) and Pons battling for the top spot. Sousa snatched the lead on Day One, ending with a 12.7 second lead over Pons, but the two front runners sat almost 10 minutes ahead of the rest of the field. Early on Day Two Pons took the lead in SS10, but Sousa held onto his second place until disaster struck for him too following a technical problem in SS13. In trying to get back to the service park for repairs he received outside assistance in contravention of the WRC regulations. A subsequent steward’s enquiry led to his exclusion from the entire event. Polish driver Michal Koścuiszko, last year’s J-WRC runner-up, benefitted from Sousa’s misfortune, promoting him to second place at the end of Day Two. However, Koścuiszko rolled his Fiesta in SS16, early on Day Th ree, For more information visit: For all S-WRC communication enquires please contact: www.wrc.com Katie Traxton, [email protected] landing on his roof. He was helicoptered to hospital in Amman, where a concussion was diagnosed. Co-driver Maciek Szczepaniak was unharmed however, but this premature retirement from Day Three dashed their hopes of a podium finish, leaving them without any much sought after points at the end of Jordan Rally. Reigning Middle East Rally Champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT, Skoda) took the lead early in the event before he hit a rock and went off the road on SS5 causing him to miss stages on Day One, but he continued to finish a respectable fourth. 2. DRIVER QUOTES 1st – XEVI PONS (ESP): “It was perfect. It’s a surprise to do two rallies and have two wins. It’s a difficult drive here in Jordan, but a good result for us and for the team. The Fiesta get s better every rally. ” 2nd – EYVIND BRYNILDSEN (NOR): “We didn’t have too many big problems, just the retirement on Day One and the rear differential on Day Two. I stuck to the middle of the road and I hoped I could win, but Xevi [Pons] didn’t go off li ke the other S -WRC drivers! ” 3rd – P-G ANDERSSON (SWE): “I'm really happy! The car was really good over the weekend and I think we showed that we are very competitive this year. It's a shame that we had to retire on the first day otherwise we could have f ought for the victory. ” 3. RESULTS (EVENT) * subject to scrutineering and routine fuel analysis POS CAR # DRIVER CO -DRIVER CAR TIME POINTS 1 28 Xevi Pons (ESP) Alex Haro (ESP) Ford Fiesta 4:10:09.8 25 2 25 Eyvind Brynildsen (NOR) Cato Menkerud (NOR) Škoda Fabia +11:52.0 18 3 53 P-G Andersson (SWE) Jonas Andersson (SWE) Škoda Fabia +18:57.4 15 4 22 Nasser Al -Attiyah (QAT) Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Škoda Fabia +21:16.2 12 5 24 Patrik Sandell (SWE) Emil Axelsson (SWE) Škoda Fabia +41:40.2 10 6 29 Jar i Ketomaa (FIN) Mika Stenberg (FIN) Ford Fiesta +54:19.5 8 4. DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 2010 FIA SUPER 2000 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP * subject to confirmation by the FIA POS CAR # DRIVER CAR SWE MEX JOR NZL PRT FIN DEU JAP FRA GBR PTS 1 28 Xavier Pons (ESP) Ford Fiesta - 25 25 50 2 G P-G Andersson (SWE) Škoda Fabia 25 - 15 40 * 3 25 Eyvind Brynildsen (NOR) Škoda Fabia 10 12 18 40 4 21 Martin Prokop (CZE) Ford Fiesta 15 18 - 33 5 24 Patrik Sandell (SWE) Škoda Fabia 12 - 10 22 6 27 Janne Tuohino (FIN) Ford Fiesta 18 - R 18 7 23 Michal Kościuszko (POL) Ford Fiesta - 15 R 15 8 22 Nasser Al -Attiyah (QAT) Škoda Fabia - R 12 12 9 30 Albert Llovera (AND) Fiat Punto - 10 - 10 10 26 Bernardo Sousa (PRT) Ford Fiesta 8 - R 8 11 29 Jari Ketomaa (FIN) Ford Fiesta - - 8 8 12 G Per -Arne Saav (SWE) Škoda Fabia 6 - - 6 For more information visit: For all S-WRC communication enquires please contact: www.wrc.com Katie Traxton, [email protected] 5. TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 2010 FIA WRC CUP (FOR TEAMS) * subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA POS TEAM SWE MEX JOR NZL PRT FIN DEU JAP FRA GBR PTS 1 Nupel G lobal Racing - 25 25 50 2 Škoda -Rene Georges Rally Sport 12 12 18 42 3 Czech Ford National Team 18 18 - 36 4 Red Bull Rallye Team 15 - 12 27 5 JanPro 25 - R 25 6 Dynamic World Rally Team - 15 R 15 7 Škoda -Rene Georges Rally Sport - R 15 15 8 Team Ford/ Quinta do Lorde 10 - R 10 9 FCACA - - 10 10 6. NEXT ROUND RALLY NEW ZEALAND www.rallynz.org.nz 6 – 9 MAY 2010, ROUND 4 OF 10 FIA SUPER 2000 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (FOR DRIVERS) For more information visit: For all S-WRC communication enquires please contact: www.wrc.com Katie Traxton, [email protected] .