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| - The second leg of next season's World Rally Championship (WRC) in Sweden has been called off due to local coronavirus restrictions, organisers announced on Tuesday. The race was scheduled to take place February 11-14, but earlier this week authorities in the country implemented strict rules to deal with an increase in Covid-19 cases. "Rally Sweden organisers, the FIA and WRC Promoter fully understand that the health of the local population is of primary concern and are committed to a collective duty of care to protect both the Varmland community and the WRC family," Rally chief executive Glenn Olsson said. "During our planning, we have closely monitored what is a constantly evolving Covid-19 situation in the region. "While we are naturally extremely disappointed, especially given the exciting new-look itinerary, this is a decision we support," he added. Frenchman Sebastien Ogier starts the defence of his title in Monte Carlo on January 21 with Croatia and Estonia holding events for the first time. Rallies in Turkey, Lithuania, Belgium, Argentina, Greece and Monza are back-up options. pel/smr/iwd/pb
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