Stage 9 of the 2017 Dakar Rally has been cancelled after a landslide caused by thunderstorms covered the road used to join the bivouac, 40km north of Jujuy, 160km away from Salta, engulfing the village of Volcan. According to local authorities considerable damage has been observed in the area.
The Dakar support services offered its sanitary facilities to assist locals while vehicles, competitors, assistance and logistics from the Dakar caravan were diverted on an alternative route through San Antonio de los Cobres.
Sebastien Loeb will head in to stage 10 with a 1 minute 38 second lead over team-mate Stephane Peterhansel, while the other Peugeot driver Cyril Despres remains in third place.
Sam Sunderland leads the bike class with 20 minutes advantage over Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien Van Beveren.
Dmitry Sotnikov leads the Trucks with Sergey Karyakin heading up the Quads. Leandro Torres remains in the led of the UTV class.
With Stage 9 cancelled it leaves competitors with three stages left to compete on. Tomorrow will see them face 751km between Chilecito and San Juan before another 759 km between San Juan and Rio Cuarto on Friday. The final stage on Saturday brings competitors to Buenos Aires after a 786km route from Rio Cuarto.
