Ireland's best known racing driver, Eddie Irvine, has backed Ireland's bid to qualify for a round of the prestigious World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2007. Rally Ireland takes place from 10th to 12th March in the North-West of Ireland, and is sponsored by Filte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Events Company.

The former Ferrari, Jordan and Jaguar Formula One driver believes that Rally Ireland stands a real chance of inclusion in the World Rally series, commenting on the bid he said: "I fully support the Rally Ireland bid; it would be great for Irish motorsport fans and rally drivers to have a world class motorsport event in Ireland. We have a great motorsport heritage and skills base in Ireland that I believe will help our bid."

John Bristow, General Manager of Rally Ireland, says that Rally Ireland has received very positive feedback from the WRC community recently: "We attended the Monte Carlo Rally in January and Swedish Rally last weekend and we are very encouraged by the support the Irish bid is getting from teams, drivers and officials. With only four weeks to go, Eddie's support couldn't come at a better time for us."

"In addition, research on our 2005 event demonstrates the huge economic impact a round of the WRC would have on Ireland, generating over ?29 million in direct and indirect benefits," John Bristow concluded.

Rally Ireland's WRC qualification will be decided by the Fdration International de l'Automobile (FIA), the sport's global governing body. An official observer from the FIA, Charles Reynolds, will be in attendance in the North-West to observe the 2006 event. Five other countries are seeking entry into the WRC, Portugal, South Africa, Jordan, Poland and Norway, whose candidate event took place this weekend.