Toby Price admits that he is now only an outside chance to win the 2018 Dakar Rally after an error in navigation which saw him  ride away from the correct route at the start of the second section of the special stage.

Price has lost over 40 minutes to the rally lead.

“For us it’s pretty much done. We’ll just keep plugging away each day and see what happens. You never know, but it’s not looking too good, so that’s the way it is.”said Toby.

Weather conditions had put a question mark over the running of the stage from the very beginning, with the organisers initially deciding to alter the route.

Race Director Marc Coma, has decided to cancel the stage altogether on safety grounds.

This is the second time a stage has been cancelled in 2018, after Monday’s Tupiza – Salta test was also abandoned over weather concerns.

Following the cancellation, the first bike will leave for San Juan, the starting point for Stage 13, at 6am local time.

Cars and trucks, however, will continue as usual, with their route significantly different to that of bikes and quads.