Elevation to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) series has raised the profile of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally.

SPECULATION is rife that next year’s Circuit of Ireland Rally will be included in the global Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) series.

NEWLY-CROWNED Irish Tarmac Group N champion, Garry Jennings headlines tomorrow’s Bailey NiteClub Redcastle Oceanfront Spa Hotel Donegal Harvest Rally, the penultimate round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship.

THE Valvoline Irish Forest Rally Championship could be decided in tomorrow’s Omagh-based Bushwhacker Rally, the penultimate round of both the Irish series and the Hankook Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

PRESENTLY enjoying a fine debut season in his Skoda Fabia S2000, Dubliner Robert Barrable has received an official invitation to compete in the Barum Rally (August 26-28) in the Czech Republic, round seven of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge series.

THE best-known rally in the world, the Monte Carlo Rally, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and the event has a great resonance for Irish competitors mostly initiated on Paddy Hopkirk’s victory in 1964.

REIGNING Intercontinental Rally champions, Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle in their Peugeot 207 S2000 are sixth overall after the opening leg of three stages of the Sata Rallye Acores, the seventh round of the series.

FROM a season where little went wrong, culminating with victory in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle, the current defence of their crown is proving almost the total opposite.

HAVING led the Rally Islas Canarias, round four of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge up until the eighth stage, the Irish crew of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000), will begins today’s final leg in sixth position. Meeke set the pace from the start, taking a 4.4 second lead over the Skoda of Jan Kopecky.

NOT since 1974 has an Irish driver won the British Rally Championship, indeed in the entire history of the BRC, only Billy Coleman has managed to triumph.

Ireland's Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle lie in seventh place at the end of the first leg of Rally Principe de Asturias in Spain, the ninth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

THE Tarmac Rally Organisers Association (TROA) meet in Dublin on Sunday against the backdrop of a changing demographic in the Irish Tarmac Championship. The top contenders in the ITC have stated that the series should continue without any dramatic changes.

The Irish duo of Kris Meeke (Dungannon) and Paul Nagle (Killarney) in their Peugeot S307 have finished second in the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, round eight of the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Fifth place on the Rali Vinho Madeira, round seven of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, has seen the Irish crew of Kris Meeke (Dungannon) and Paul Nagle (Killarney) move into a five point lead in the championship.

Dungannon's Kris Meeke and Killarney's Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000) have moved into a two point lead in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge series after today's victory in the Sata Rally Azores.

Sebastien Loeb is set for victory at the French Rally after dominating the second day in Corsica.

Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb won a record-breaking sixth consecutive Rally Germany title to cut the gap in the race for the championship.

Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb is on course for a record-breaking sixth consecutive Rally Germany crown after establishing a 37.8-second lead ahead of the final day.

Belgium’s Francois Duval stunned the rest of the field as he surged to the top of the leaderboard on day one of the Rally Germany.

Marcus Gronholm was victorious on home soil as he won a seventh Rally Finland title to extend his FIA World Rally Championship lead to 13 points.

Marcus Gronholm stands on the verge of a record seventh victory on home soil after a dominant display alongside Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen in the Rally Finland on Saturday.

Marcus Gronholm strengthened his grip on the World Rally Championship by winning Rally Greece.

Ford's Marcus Gronholm has a 44-second lead over World Rally Championship title rival Sebastien Loeb heading into the final day of the Greek round.

Marcus Gronholm cut Sebastien Loeb’s World Rally Championship lead to two points with victory in the Swedish round of the series.

World champion Sebastien Loeb saw his lead cut on the second morning of Rally Germany.

SEBASTIEN LOEB celebrated a “dream weekend” for Citroen on Rally Catalunya after clinching his 10th win this season in typically dominant fashion.

Sebastien Loeb claimed a perfect 10th victory of the season to give Citroen the manufacturers’ title in style on Rally Catalunya today.

Sebastian Loeb claimed victory in the OMV ADAC Rally in Germany to move a step closer to defending his World Rally Championship title.