The Jordan Rally is a rallying

Rallying

Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

 competition held in Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

. It was a new addition to the FIA World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship

The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...

 (WRC) calendar for the 2008 season

2008 World Rally Championship season

The 2008 World Rally Championship season was the 36th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 15 rallies and began on January 24, with the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally....

, and the first occurrence of a WRC event in the Middle East. The rally was previously part of the Middle East Rally Championship

Middle East Rally Championship

The Middle East Rally Championship is one of the official annual rally championships run by the FIA.The 2011 Events are as follows:-2010 season:The 2010 Events and winners:-Past champions:-Previous rally winners:...

. The 2008 rally

2008 Jordan Rally

The 2008 Jordan Rally was the fifth round of 2008 World Rally Championship season and the third gravel round of the championship and also the second round of the Junior World Rally Championship. The event began with a ceremonial start on Thursday, April 24 in Amman, Jordan, near the Dead Sea.-...

 was held from 24–27 April with the event headquarters located just outside the capital city of Amman

Amman

Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

.

Stages

The 2008 Jordan Rally had 21 stages centred around the Dead Sea

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...

 area (in 40 km radius). The stages all fell within a 75 km area, making it one of the most compact rounds of the season. All stages except one had sections below sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

.

The service area was constructed from scratch, involving the Jordan's Army and Ministry of Housing Public Works. An area of 50 thousand square meters was to be dedicated solely to the purpose of this WRC event, one of the biggest sporting events Jordan has ever held.

Winners

Edition	Year	Championship	Driver	Co-driver	Car
1st	1981		Michel Saleh	Tony Samia	Toyota Celica GT
2nd	1982		Michel Saleh	Tony Samia	Toyota Celica GT
3rd	1983	MERC	Saeed Al-Hajiri	John Spiller	Opel Manta 400
4th	1984	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Hasan Bin Shadour	Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo
5th	1985	MERC	Saeed Al-Hajiri	John Spiller	Porsche 911 SC RS
6th	1986	MERC	Saeed Al-Hajiri	John Spiller	Porsche 911 SC RS
7th	1987	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	John Spiller	Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo
8th	1988	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Ronan Morgan	Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo
9th	1990	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Ronan Morgan	Toyota Celica GT 4
10th	1992	MERC	Abbas Al-Mosawi	Benny Smythe	Toyota Celica GT 4
11th	1993	MERC	Sheikh Hammad Al-Thani	Abdullah Al Mari	Mitsubishi Galant VR 4
12th	1994	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Phil Mills Phil Mills Phil Mills is a Welsh rally racing co-driver. He was winner of the 2003 World Rally Championship , as co-driver to Petter Solberg....	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
13th	1995	MERC	Abdullah Bakhashab	Bobby Willis	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
14th	1996	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Ronan Morgan	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
15th	1997	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Ronan Morgan	Ford Escort RS Cosworth
16th	1998	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Ronan Morgan	Ford Escort Cosworth WRC
17th	1999	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Ronan Morgan	Ford Escort Cosworth WRC
18th	2000	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Ronan Morgan	Ford Focus WRC
19th	2001	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	Khalid Zakaria	Ford Focus WRC
20th	2002	MERC	Mohammed Bin Sulayem	John Spiller	Ford Focus WRC
21st	2003	MERC	Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He participates in the Production World Rally Championship , which he won in 2006, and the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2011...	Steve Lancaster	Subaru Impreza WRC
22nd	2004	MERC	Amjad Farrah	Khalid Zakaria	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7
23rd	2005	MERC	Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He participates in the Production World Rally Championship , which he won in 2006, and the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2011...	Chris Patterson Chris Patterson Chris Patterson is a professional rally racing co-driver.He competed first time in the World Rally Championship in 1993 and has won the 2006 Production World Rally Championship with Nasser Al-Attiyah. Patterson is recognized as one of the world's most experienced rally navigators...	Subaru Impreza WRX Sti
24th	2006	MERC	Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He participates in the Production World Rally Championship , which he won in 2006, and the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2011...	Chris Patterson Chris Patterson Chris Patterson is a professional rally racing co-driver.He competed first time in the World Rally Championship in 1993 and has won the 2006 Production World Rally Championship with Nasser Al-Attiyah. Patterson is recognized as one of the world's most experienced rally navigators...	Subaru Impreza WRC
25th	2007	MERC	Khalid Al-Qassimi Khalid al-Qassimi Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal bin Sultan Al Qassimi is a rally driver from the United Arab Emirates. He won the FIA's Middle East Rally Championship in 2004 and currently competes in the World Rally Championship...	Michael Orr	Subaru Impreza WRC
26th	2008 2008 Jordan Rally The 2008 Jordan Rally was the fifth round of 2008 World Rally Championship season and the third gravel round of the championship and also the second round of the Junior World Rally Championship. The event began with a ceremonial start on Thursday, April 24 in Amman, Jordan, near the Dead Sea.-...	WRC	Mikko Hirvonen Mikko Hirvonen Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish rally driver currently driving for the Citroën Total World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009 and 2011, he finished runner-up to...	Jarmo Lehtinen Jarmo Lehtinen Jarmo Lehtinen is a Finnish sports commentator and journalist who works who works for Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE. He commentates sports events, mainly football matches, for both radio and television. He regularly commentatos football for the Jalkapallokierros program in Radio Suomi...	Ford Focus RS WRC 07
27th	2009	MERC	Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He participates in the Production World Rally Championship , which he won in 2006, and the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2011...	Giovanni Bernacchini	Subaru Impreza WRX N15
28th	2010 2010 Jordan Rally The 2010 Jordan Rally was the third round of the 2010 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over April 1–3, and was based beside the Dead Sea, some from the country's capital, Amman. The rally was also the third round of both the Production Car World Rally Championship, and the...	WRC	Sébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb is a French rally driver currently driving for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship...	Daniel Elena Daniel Elena Daniel Elena is a Monegasque rally co-driver, currently working with Sébastien Loeb. Between them, the pair have won the World Rally Championship eight times, and currently compete with the Citroën DS3 WRC...	Citroën C4 WRC
29th	2011 2011 Jordan Rally The 2011 Jordan Rally was the fourth round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over 14–16 April, and was based beside the Dead Sea, some from the country's capital, Amman...	WRC	Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Ogier is a French rally driver. He won the Junior World Rally Championship in 2008 and last drove in the World Rally Championship for the Citroën World Rally Team. His co-driver is compatriot Julien Ingrassia. They are set to join Volkswagen's WRC team when they enter the championship in...	Julien Ingrassia Julien Ingrassia Julien Ingrassia is a French rally co-driver, currently working with Sébastien Ogier.-References:...	Citroën DS3 WRC

External links

• Official Jordan Rally website
• WRC Jordan preview