Tomorrow’s opening day of the Jordan Rally has been cancelled following further delays in the arrival of the boat containing the kit required to run the fourth round of the World Rally Championship.
While official confirmation has not yet been received, AUTOSPORT’s sources in a meeting between the teams and the FIA has confirmed that there will be no stages tomorrow.
The boat arrived in Israeli waters last night, but was forced to sit a kilometre offshore due to a heavy storm in the area, which would have made it unsafe for the boat to dock. The boat eventually docked two hours ago. The vessel has been unloaded and is now starting the customs process in Haifa.
The kit is not expected to arrive at the Dead Sea service park until late afternoon or early evening, leaving just 12 hours before the service park was scheduled to be used for the first control of the event – tomorrow morning’s 07:00 departure for the Jerash ceremonial start.
It is now expected tomorrow will include shakedown and a rescheduled ceremonial start. Precise details and a revised timetable are expected from the next meeting between the teams and FIA in Jordan, which is set for 1900 local time this evening.