Last night’s hopes of the boat carrying the WRC trucks and equipment docking were not realised. This time, a storm off the coast of Haifa, Israel was the reason, further delaying the arrival and transport of the WRC circus to Jordan Rally headquarters.
The event’s Day One recce went ahead, albeit with non-recce cars and in standard 4WD vehicles, with organisers pulling out all the stops to enable the event to go ahead.
Speaking to www.wrc.com last night, North One Sport event manager Simon Larkin said: “Thanks to the co-operative and open-minded approach of all the stakeholders we have been able to make progress in spite of the logistical challenges.”
“This has been a 100 per cent collaborative decision, starting with consultation with the FIA, the teams and rally organisers during the last event,” said Larkin. “We chose this route because it was the only realistic option from a cost and timing perspective. Any other option would have ruled out all but the two manufacturer teams from participating.
“We wanted this to be a collective solution so that nobody got left behind. As a sport we have to recognise the needs of all the competitors, not just the ones at the front.”
The boat is expected to be unloaded this morning (Wednesday) and all equipment and trucks will then only reach Service Park in Jordan late this afternoon ahead of the rally’s start tomorrow. A meeting at 22h00 last night to decide certain aspects of the event has revealed that the teams and organisers will once again meet at 11h00 today to determine a new schedule for the event. To qualify for FIA’s regulations for WRC events, a route has to complete 66 percent of the standard route set out by the WRC. This means that simply cancelling a leg of the rally will not be allowed for the event, but the organisers and teams are working on creative solutions to work around this problem should it arise.
“It’s been a process of collaboration and everyone is committed to making the Jordan Rally a success,” said Larkin.