Elfyn Evans will be heading to Italy earlier than planned after the Rally Italia Sardegna was moved forward by three weeks to 8 – 11 October.

The request to reschedule came from event organiser Automobile Club d’Italia and was agreed by the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, and WRC Promoter following the forced cancellation of Rally Deutschland.

The switch avoids a clash with Formula 1’s GP dell’Emilia Romagna, which will be held at Italy’s Imola circuit on the same late- October weekend on which Rally Italia Sardegna was scheduled.

Evans is currently second in the WRC standings with 54 points, just eight points behind Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier.

The Welsh rally ace survived a huge shunt at the South Estonia Rally last weekend which wrecked his Yaris WRC car, but has been back testing in Greece this week.

Evans resumed his WRC title bid in Estonia next week.

The move forward also offers the prospect of better weather in Italy for the gravel road fixture, as well as additional daylight hours as Europe moves deep into autumn.

Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of Automobile Club d’Italia, said finalising a date which aligned with other championship calendars was a tricky task.

“In ACI we have worked hard to redefine the new dates for the 2020 Rally Italia Sardegna,” he explained. “It has not been easy to find the right days which could put together the needs of all stakeholders and could work well for the region of Sardinia.

“In this very difficult year ACI has wanted, as already shown with the F1 GPs in Monza, Mugello and Imola, to protect national and international motorsport by confirming also our competition. I personally thank the region of Sardinia for their absolute support to make all this happen.”