The recce for next weekend's Jordan Rally has been delayed until Tuesday (12th April) after a delay in getting the recce equipment to the rally base in the Dead Sea Resort.
The WRC's pre-organised route from Portugal to Jordan had to be changed to avoid the political unrest in Syria. The route usually took the equipment trucks from Venice to the Syrian port of Tartous. However, due to the Syrian unrest, the route was changed and the ship will now dock in the Israeli port of Haifa, coming from Trieste in Italy.
However, delays at sea mean that the ship will dock a day late, on Monday instead of tomorrow, Sunday. The recce was due to start on Monday, but will now start on Tuesday. The organisers hope that it will not affect the running of the rally itself.
"This is unfortunate. All we know is that the boat won't be there until Monday and the recce is supposed to start that day. The concern now is that the boat might not get processed in the port as quickly as we would like. We don't know this port well at all, we've been into Jordan through Aqaba previously. We'll have to see." A WRC source said.
However, Ford's Mikko Hirvonen dosen't seem to mind the delay, saying: "I don't mind, it means we get a day off on Monday! I don't think it's going to affect anything too much. The recce will still happen. It's better to wait for the recce cars, I don't think there are really enough [Group N recce] cars to hire privately for the teams to go without their own."
Delays in shipping recce cars is now a completely new experience. Crews had to hire Group N cars from Limassol so as that they could make their permitted two runs over the stages.
Shakedown for the Jordan Rally is now believed to be taking place on Wednesday evening.
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