Sebastien Loeb wins Rally of Jordan, Kimi Raikkonen off mark

Citroen's Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Jordan on Saturday to extend his lead in the championship standings after a controversial final day on the shores of the Dead Sea.

The Frenchman, taking his 56th win at world championship level, finished 35.8 seconds ahead of Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala in a Ford.

Both teams used extreme tactics to avoid having their front-running drivers starting first and sweeping the roads for those behind.

Norwegian Petter Solberg, in a privately-entered Citroen, was third.

Loeb now has 68 points to Latvala's 43 and Finnish driver Mikko Hirvonen's 37.

The Frenchman had led overnight but facing the disadvantage of having to go first and act as roadsweeper for the following Latvala.   

To get around that, Citroen instructed second placed Sebastien Ogier to check in early for the opening stage — a transgression that would force the younger Frenchman to run first.

Ford in turn asked Hirvonen, out of the reckoning for victory after hitting a bank on Friday, to check in early so that he could run ahead of compatriot and team mate Latvala on the road.

Finland's Kimi Raikkonen finished eighth for Citroen, the former Formula One world champion taking his first points in rallying at world championship level since he made the switch at the end of last year.