Army teams up with government and municipality to repair damaged routes

Amman, Jordan: After the fiercest storms to hit Jordan in a generation, organisers of the 2010 FIA Jordan Rally World Rally Championship (WRC) event have issued a defiant message that the ‘show will go on’.

Six months’ worth of rain fell in 72 hours to cause extensive damage across the Kingdom with chunks of the rally’s 348 kms battered by the torrential downpours and the resulting flash floods.

But in an incredible show of determination, officials began orchestrating the work to repair the damage even before the rains subsided to ensure the biggest social and sporting event to hit the Middle East this year will take place from April 1-3 as planned.

“It has been an incredible show of unity, determination and professionalism by all parties involved,” said Khaled Zakaria, Jordan Rally clerk of the course. “Even during the horrendous storms, we had people working up to their knees in mud and water determined to restrict the amount of damage caused to the routes. It has been a fantastic national effort and after surveying the damage, we are confident of having everything back on track soon.”

The army has been called in to work alongside Government and Municipal agencies as Jordan pulls out all the stops to ensure the event lives up to its reputation of being one of the world’s great motorsport events.

The problems have been compounded due to the stage locations, with many running below sea level and affected by the water which cascades down from the higher ground. The route will be fine tuned to avoid areas that are beyond repair, but the routes are not expected to be changed extensively.

The world’s best drivers will rub shoulders with the leading speedsters from across the region as over 50 cars are expected to start the demanding three-day event, which gets into gear from the stunning Roman ruins in Jerash.

Three days of breathtaking action will follow as drivers tackle some of the most testing tracks to be found anywhere in the world of rallying. Most of the action will run north and north-west of the Dead Sea with the teams based at the state-of-the-art service park located on the banks of the Dead Sea in the hotels zone.

Mikko Hirvonen, Sebastien Loeb and former Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen are the big names to have confirmed their attendance for what promises to be a motorsporting spectacular in one of the most picturesque sporting locations in the world.