The historic Targa Florio will replace the Mecsek Rally event on the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge calendar.
Hungarian event Mecesk had been due to appear on the IRC schedule on the first weekend of June after a successful debut in 2011, but has had to withdraw from the series for financial reasons.
Championship organizers have therefore lined up the Targa Florio-Rally Internazionale Di Sicilia as a replacement. The Sicilian event will run from Thursday to Saturday, June 14-16, a week before the next IRC round in Ypres.
IRC commercial director Antonello Lodoletti admitted that such a short-notice change was not ideal, but said he was pleased to secure a high quality replacement event. The Targa Florio will be the Italy region's third event on this year's IRC calendar, joining San Marino and Sanremo.
"While we never like to adjust the calendar once the season is underway, we are delighted to welcome such a strong rally brand into the IRC," said Lodoletti.