Seville, Spain: The 335-km second special stage of the Andalucia Rally, final round of the World Rally-Raid Championship, was cancelled yesterday due to bad weather, with low-level clouds at the rally base in Dos Hermanas which prevented the event’s helicopters from taking off, making it impossible to guarantee competitor safety.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel set the fastest time in their Toyota Hilux to top Stage 1 on Thursday and are hold a 8:58-minute advantage over their closest contestant Yazeed Al Rajhi of Saudi Arabia.
Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, Al Attiyah's closest rival in the Championship standings, starts in third position at today's stage.
Toyota Gazoo Racing's Attiyah holds a 22-point advantage over Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin in the World Rally-Raid Championship standings.
Yesterday's stage was due to present a different test for drivers, sending them over a mix of broken, narrow tracks in the hills north of Malaga close to the El Torcal de Antequera nature reserve.
The start was initially delayed for two hours before eventually being cancelled, leaving two stages remaining before the finish tomorrow.
