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WRC calendar for 2009 leaked?

The FIA World Rally Championship calendar for 2008 was confirmed on Wednesday and it seems the 2009 schedule was also the subject of discussion by the World Motor Sport Council with a draft version circulated.

Although the 2009 schedule has not been officially released, according to reports by norsk-rally.com, it will omit a number of the most prestigious events in the championship, including the Rallye Monte Carlo and Wales Rally GB.

Rally New Zealand is also left off, as is the Swedish Rally, the Jordan Rally, the Rallye Deutschland, the Rallye de Espana, the Rally Japan and the Rally of Turkey - assumingly all would be run in 2010, as part of the plan to rotate events and reduce the number per year to 12, as confirmed back in June.

The full unofficial calendar for 2009, which apparently has to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council in December, is as follows:


LEAKED: 2009 FIA World Rally Championship calendar.

6-8 Feb Rally Norway
6-8 Mar Rally Mexico
10-12 Apr Rally Argentina
24-26 Apr Rally de Portugal
8-10 May Rally Italia-Sardinia
29 May-31 May Acropolis Rally of Greece
19-21 June Rally Poland
31 July-2 Aug Rally Finland
21-23 Aug Cyprus Rally
11-13 Sept Rally Australia
2-4 Oct Rallye de France - Tour de Corse
16-18 Nov Rally Ireland