S-WRC: Andersson back to resume his title fight in Jordan

The upcoming Jordan Rally, round three of the FIA’s new championship for Super 2000 cars, features its biggest entry of the season so far and the return of the wild card winner from round one, Per-Gunnar ’P-G’ Andersson.

Andersson, a previous double winner of the J-WRC title, returned to the World Championship in Rally Sweden, taking a sensational S-WRC victory at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia.

At the time the appearance was a one-off, but with 25 points on the scoreboard, the Swede has since put himself firmly in contention for this year’s S-WRC crown by confirming a deal with the Czech JM Racing Team which has now registered for the whole championship.

In Jordan, Andersson will use the same Fabia S2000 he drove in Sweden. Inside the car he will be reunited with his former Suzuki co-driver, Jonas Andersson, who partnered him in 2008 when he tackled the Jordan rally with Suzuki.

With series leader Martin Prokop electing to miss Jordan, any one of six drivers could potentially knock him from the top spot. Andersson and Ford Fiesta driver Xevi Pons are the best bets, both tied in second place on 18 points, while Eyvind Brynildsen (Skoda) Janne Tuohino (Ford) Michal Kosciuszko (Ford) and Patrik Sandell (Skoda) are all in with a shout.

Also in action in Jordan is former Finnish rally champion Jari Ketomaa, who will make his S-WRC debut driving the same Ford Fiesta S2000 that Nasser Al-Attiyah used to win the opening round of the Middle East Rally Championship.

An experienced competitor in the Chinese Rally Championship, Ketomaa will tackle the 2010 S-WRC in one of two cars run by WRC newcomers, the Shanghai FCACA Rally Team.

The event starts with a ceremonial show at Jerash on April 1 and will finish on the banks of the Dead Sea on April 3.