The boat carrying the equipment for the Jordan Rally has failed to dock at its expected time in Israel tonight because a storm has hit Haifa and the vessel is not allowed to come to port in the current conditions.
The teams will reconvene at 11 a.m. local time tomorrow when it is hoped the boat will have docked and be well on its way to unloading the cargo of service park infrastructure. After a meeting tonight, the teams could make no plans regarding Thursday's opening day, with the boat situation still unresolved.
"This is unbelievable," said one team manager. "You could not make this up now. The boat is now sat one kilometer out of port, waiting for the sea to calm down so it can come in.
"At the moment, there are a lot of plans flying about regarding what could be done for Thursday, but nobody knows. Until the boat is in and the stuff is in the service park, we can't really decide anything.
"We'll get together tomorrow and see where we're at. About the only thing we can say is that shakedown [rescheduled for tomorrow night] is pretty much certain to be canceled. As for day one, who knows? But with no boat, trucks or equipment, it's not looking the best."
The boat was due to arrive on Sunday, but was slowed by an engine failure. The teams are now standing by in Haifa awaiting news.
The opening day of the Jordan Rally is shorter than usual due to a morning start ceremony in Jerash. The day comprises around half the distance of the opening day on other World Rally Championship rounds at 45 miles, but, crucially, the service park at the Dead Sea is used for Time Control 0B at 7:00 Thursday morning.