Spaniard Sordo takes day one lead in pulsating Joran Rally

DEAD SEA, Jordan, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Spaniard Dani Sordo and co-driver Marc Marti held a mere 1.1 seconds overall lead in the 2008 Jordan Rally after the opening leg's eight timed special stages in punishing heat in the Dead Sea area of the Hashemite Kingdom on Friday.

Teammates Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena pressured them towards the end on a day dominated by the unique challenge of driving over the challenging Jordanian terrain.

"The stages were particularly tricky this morning, where grip and traction were changing all the time," said Loeb. "But we made some changes at service and it was much better this afternoon."

Ford teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen were third and fourth at the end of day one, but Petter Solberg and the factory Suzukis hit trouble. Sweden's Patrick Sandell led the JWRC category by 54.8 seconds in his nimble Renault Clio.

Sordo and Solberg set the joint fastest time in the opening Suwayma special stage, although Hirvonen was a mere 0.5 seconds adrift.

Suzuki's Per-Gunnar Andersson left the road in the first of the factory Suzuki SX4s and was forced to retire. He was soon joined by teammate Toni Gardemeister, as the Japanese team made a miserable start to the fifth round of the WRC.

Sordo was fastest again in the Mahes special and moved into the outright lead, with Solberg and Latvala his closest rivals. All drivers complained that the stage surfaces were treacherously slippery and no-one was prepared to push and take risks.

"It was just so slippery on those early stages," said Latvala. "The grip was unpredictable and the priority was not to make a mistake."

Sordo was again the form driver in the Mount Nebo stage and extended his overall lead over Solberg to 15.1 seconds, although the top seven were closely bunched.

Loeb set his first fastest time in the Mai'n special and moved up to third position, but several of the leaders survived small spins on the slippery surfaces, as Sordo arrived at the major service break with a 13.8 second lead over Latvala.

Petter Solberg, Mikko Hirvonen and Chris Atkinson completed the top six.

Latvala was fastest out of the blocks in the fifth stage, where thousands of spectators had gathered to witness the action at the popular water splash - the lowest major sporting venue in the world at 400 meters below sea level.

The Finn was a second quicker than Loeb, although Sordo maintained a 9.8 seconds lead over the Ford driver. Loeb was fastest on the re-run of the Mahes special, but Sordo maintained his lead heading into the second Mount Nebo stage, which wound its way along the spectacular mountain track.

The Frenchman was again quickest on the mountain stage and reduced Sordo's overall advantage to just 4.7 seconds before the final Mai'n stage, which reached the rally's highest point of 700 meters above sea level.