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 The countdown to Rally Ireland has begun in earnest today with the release of the entry list of the 90 competitors who will take to the roads of Belfast and the north-western border counties next month as Ireland makes its debut in the World Rally Championship.
Twenty one countries are represented on the Rally Ireland entry list, with competitors coming from as far as Qatar, Japan and the USA, and an impressive entry of 53 competitors from the island of Ireland, north and south. The Key battle on the event is likely to be between reigning World Champion Sebastien Loeb, the French Citroen competitor and Finland's Marcus Gronholm of BP Ford, who currently leads the Driver's Championship by just four points.
The only female driver taking part is Emma McKinstry from Banbridge, County Down. A daughter of Irish rally legend Kenny McKinstry, Emma has competed in the 2006 Rally Ireland candidate event and is a regular on national and International rallies. The three members of the MacHale family are also set to make an impression as father Austin and sons Gareth and Aaron all take to the roads in their Ford Focus WRC cars.
In a country that has a higher percentage of WRC cars than any other in the world, 34 WRC cars are entered, with 11 makes from BMW to Toyota making the start list. All will be competing for one prize; the "Hands Across the Divide" trophy specially commissioned by Rally Ireland.
 1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC
2. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC
3. Marcus Gronholm BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07
4. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07
5. Manfred Stohl OMV Kronos Citroen Xsara WRC
7. Petter Solberg Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2006
8. Chris Atkinson Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2006
9. Jari-Matti Latvala Stobart Ford Focus WRC 06
10. Henning Solberg Stobart Ford Focus WRC 06
11. Xavier Pons Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2006 A8
12. Francois Duval Citroen Xsara WRC A8
14. Khalid Al-Qassimi BP Ford Focus RS WRC 06 A8
16. Matthew Wilson Stobart Ford Focus WRC 06 A8
17. Guy Wilks Subaru Impreza A8
18. Kris Meeke Subaru Impreza A8
19. Gareth MacHale Ford Focus RS WRC A8
 20. Andreas Mikkelsen Ramsport Ford Focus RS WRC A8
21. Eugene Donnelly Reid Motorsport Skoda Fabia WRC A8
22. Eamonn Boland Stobart Ford Focus WRC 06 A8
23. Andrew Nesbitt Subaru Impreza A8
24. Austin MacHale Ford Focus WRC A8
25. Aaron MacHale Ford Focus WRC A8
26. Tim McNulty Subaru Impreza S11 A8
27. Gareth Jones Stobart Ford Focus WRC 04 A8
28. Ray Breen Stobart Ford Focus WRC 04 A8
29. Kevin Barrett Subaru Impreza S11 A8
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