The Africa Eco Race was supposed to start with a Prologue stage on Sunday, but that has been called off due to delays in ferrying race equipment to Tangier.

Tangier was supposed to receive the ship carrying the organizers’ scrutineering items on Friday at 7 AM. However, it instead arrived over three hours later.

Part of this was attributed to heavy rain that has ravaged the Moroccan port city all week, and is expected to continue over the weekend. On Friday morning, organizers also found their gear had been damaged by the storms overnight.

“The City of Tangier, its technical teams, as well as our entire organizing team, have been working tirelessly throughout the night and since early this morning to secure, repair and reinstall the infrastructure under very challenging weather conditions,” reads a statement from the AER. “We would like to acknowledge this exceptional level of commitment and mobilization.

“This delay is part of a chain of constraints and setbacks, adding to the material damage and the weather conditions forecast for the coming hours.

“Furthermore, weather forecasts for Sunday indicate 100% rain and strong wind gusts, which requires us to anticipate and adapt the organization in a responsible manner.”

With no more Prologue, Sunday will instead be used as an extra day for scrutineering. Racing will begin on Monday from Tangier to Bousaïd.

Featured image credit: Aventure Girousse