Rally Ireland, the World Rally Championship (WRC) candidate event has announced a plan to secure a global TV audience for the host counties of the 2006 event. The WRC has a global TV audience of 770 million TV viewers in 155 Countries

‘We wanted to give as much exposure as possible to the counties who are involved in the rally this year to promote tourism with our international viewers,’ said marketing manager, Gavin McAllister.

“With such a high value placed on television, it is vital that we maximise the exposure for the country as a whole.  We want overseas viewers to know exactly where the rally is taking place, so we have decided to name the stages in the Rally after the locations where they will take place: Donegal, Fermanagh, Sligo, Tyrone, Leitrim and Ireland North West,” he concluded.

If successful in its bid for a place in the WRC, Rally Ireland could be worth more than €29 million (£20 million) to the economy based on recent research carried out by the University of Ulster and IT Sligo.  In terms of TV coverage, the WRC is worth €17 million (£11.5mllion) in international television advertising value to the host location.

Details of the precise locations of the six stages will be announced at the start of February.  The other WRC candidates are South Africa, Norway, Portugal, Poland and Jordan.

Rally Ireland are regarded as the leading contender for a WRC slot after public comments by leading figures in the sport at the recent Monte Carlo rally. FIA President, Max Mosley, TV rights holder, David Richards and current World Championship leader Marcus