The make-up of next season’s Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is one of the main topics on the Tarmac Rally Organisers Association (TROA) agenda in Dublin on Sunday.

Triple national rally champion Niall Maguire has conquered the Sligo Rally on several occasions — as has his son Shane, who won last year — yet it has been nine years since Maguire Snr’s last triumph and, indeed, his last national victory.

At first glance, the Irish motorsport calendar is a list of more than 220 events at various locations involving several spectrums of the sport.

THE demise of Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge both here and in Britain is a major blow, particularly to the young drivers, as it provided a perfect launching pad to their careers.