Stage 7 of the WRC Rally of Bulgaria was cancelled on Saturday onb safety grounds after a huge crowd of spectators tried to reach the finish area.
"Officials said they had never witnessed such interest in a World Rally championship event," said a statement from the organisers, who took the decision on the recommendation of an International Automobile Federation delegate monitoring the situation from a helicopter.
Three more stages of the first WRC event to be held in Bulgaria will go ahead on Saturday but the rest of the day's itinerary will run 27 minutes late due to the cancellation of the 24km seventh stage.
Citroen's World champion Sebastien Loeb held a 30sec lead over his team mate Dani Sordo midway through the 354km all-asphalt race. - Reuters