Bengaluru, September 28: The Marmaris Rally of Turkey to be held from October 20-22 assumes extra significance after the recent FIA decision to include it in the 2018 World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar.

Turkey's return to the WRC for the first time since 2010 will be confirmed provided that the candidate event being hosted as a round of the European Rally Trophy meets with the necessary FIA approval.

The event will replace Rally Poland in the 13-round calendar on September 13-16, 2018.

Turkey hosted the WRC for six years between 2003 and 2010 in Antalya and Istanbul and the country's return rally will be based in Mugla after a seven-year absence from the world's premier motor sporting calendar.

Senior FIA officials and representatives of the leading manufacturers' teams are expected to attend the candidate event to gain valuable knowledge before 2018.

Both next month's candidate event and Turkey's WRC return will be held in and around the Mediterranean destination of Marmaris.

October's WRC candidate round will feature 205.10 competitive kilometres in a route of 609.5km laid on by Clerk of the Course Murat Kaya and his team.

Administration and scrutineering checks will take place on Thursday, October 19 and the pre-rally press conference, 4.5km shakedown stage and ceremonial start will take centre stage on Friday, October 20 in Marmaris.

Leg one gets underway on Saturday morning (October 21) and features two loops of three stages named after deceased rally drivers Ayhan Tokyay, Mustafa Koç and Ali Sipahi).

The action concludes after a second leg of seven special stages on Sunday (October 22) with three stages repeated twice and named in memory of Renç Koçibey, Lem'i Tanca and Yusuf Aramici and a single run through a Red Bull-backed test of 7.1km to bring the action to a conclusion.

Turkey first held an international rally in 1972, but the idea of creating a WRC candidate event was conceived in 1999 with support from the late rally organiser Malcolm Neill.