Weather concerns shuffle the provisional calendarThe Jordan Rally's first appearance in the FIA World Rally Championship is now set to be 25-27 April, 2008.
The news was announced by Jordan Motorsport which had originally been given a slot of March 28-30 to hold
the Arab World's first FIA WRC event, but concerns over unpredictable weather prompted organisers to open a series of extensive international negotiations with the FIA, WRC teams and other rounds to secure a more favourable date.
Although fans will have to wait an extra month to enjoy the biggest social and sporting event the Kingdom has ever staged, it does mean that the Jordan Rally will be held during a time of the year when glorious weather is virtually guaranteed.
"There was a concern that the March weekend could be susceptible to inclement weather and flash floods in the Dead Sea area where we hold the majority of our stages," said HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Chairman of Jordan Motorsport.
"We did hold a test event in March this year and the weather was fine but we don't want to take any chances in our first year when we must make the biggest impression possible on the rallying world," the Prince explained.
Jordan is set to switch dates with Argentina which will move forward to the March slot.
Following Jordan, the FIA WRC will move on to Sardinia, meaning that the major teams such as Subaru, Ford and Citroën will bring their big road shows to Jordan first to create the major spectacle and hype that the fans are craving for.
The new provisional calendar is currently being discussed with the teams and a final decision will be made at the FIA World Council meeting in October where it is hoped the proposal will be accepted.
As well as the international discussions, exhaustive negotiations have been held on the ground to ensure that the Dead Sea area was available at the end of April to host the thousands of visitors. The Hussein Convention Centre has now been booked along with hundreds of hotel rooms in readiness.
Currently work continues unabated in view of welcoming the world in 2008. A massive operation to create the new service park and new stages is soon to begin.
Source Jordan Rally
