China Grand Rally’s race authorities have announced that the fifth stage of the rally – the longest special stage – has been cancelled, citing safety issues.
There is to be no fifth stage of the China Grand Rally and as a consequence the standings from yesterday’s event remain. Race organisers decided to suspend all activity for safety reasons after heavy rain over recent days broke up large swathes of the track on the scheduled route. Likewise, the presence of vehicles and heavy trucks – mobilized to repair the damage – have increased the risks to competitors.
The overall standings remain unchanged with Joan Barreda topping the China Grand Rally leaderboard, with a 48 minute advantage over the second place rider and a 1:23’4” difference with teammate Michael Metge in third place.
The 374.51 kilometre sixth stage, between Alxa YouQi and ZhangYe, will include 179 kilometres of timed special stage and will take in some of the huge dunes of the immense Gobi Desert.
