Istanbul Rally replaces Safari as season opener.

The organisers of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge have officially confirmed that the Istanbul Rally will open the season this year.

The event in Turkey replaces the Safari Rally which was dropped from the IRC calendar due to the political difficulties currently taking place in Kenya. The Istanbul Rally, which will start on Friday April 4 and finish in the afternoon on Sunday April 6, will take in 'a challenging route of gravel stages' similar to last year's event.

News that Turkey would be brought in to fill the void left by the absence of the Safari became public knowledge yesterday [Thursday], when details of his inclusion were included in the statement announcing that the Rallye Monte Carlo will join the IRC calendar in 2009.

"We are delighted to welcome Turkey back onto the IRC calendar this year, after our reluctant but necessary decision to drop the Safari Rally," said Jacques Behar, the president of IRC series promoter Eurosport Events. "We wanted to find an alternative gravel rally for this year as quickly as possible - but of course it had to be of the same excellent quality as the rest of the events on the series.

"I'm very pleased to say that we have now managed to put together a rally that is truly worthy of opening the 2008 IRC season, where we aim to consolidate the success we enjoyed last year."

The IRC will feature two new rallies - in Portugal and Spain - this year, as well as an improved television package from Eurosport, featuring live broadcasts from the service park.