The good news is that Mark Higgins, his biggest rival for the Irish Tarmac championship, will be on board a production Subaru for the PWT Ulster Rally at the end of the month.

The bad news is that Kris Meeke looks likely to take over the Pirelli Subaru S11 in which Higgins led the Tarmac series for the first half of the year.

"Pirelli have asked me to drive the S11 and we have put an entry in," confirmed Meeke who won the Rally of the Lakes earlier in the year. "But it isn't definite yet because we are still working on finding the budget.

"Mark was never scheduled to do the Ulster Rally in the Pirelli car so it wasn't part of their budget for this season but they are keen for me to do the rally and have come up with part of the package.

"The chance to do your home international in a WRC car is a dream come true, especially after last year when I led it in the C2 Citroen."

Former Citroen Junior World champion star Meeke, from Dungannon, led the Easter International (Circuit of Ireland) on his Irish WRC debut earlier in the year but his McKinstry Motorsport Subaru S11 was sidelined near with the end with engine trouble as Higgins took the victory in the Pirelli car.

But Meeke won the Lakes event for the McKinstry team a couple of week's later in Killarney - his first win in the Tarmac championship which is currently being fought out by Donnelly and Higgins.

The fact that Higgins is also trying to retain his British title complicates the situation.

On rounds of the two championships which coincide - Jim Clark Rally, Rally Isle of Man and Ulster Rally - he is contracted to drive a production Subaru for the Stobart team.

It means he can't hope to beat Donnelly's Reid Motorsport S12 Subaru on these events and, indeed, the triple Irish champion has won both the Clark and Manx rounds to take over the lead in the Tarmac series.

Higgins had been debating whether to concentrate on his Tarmac challenge and indeed his Ulster entry had simply stated 'Subaru Impreza' and had failed to signal which type.

"It will have to be the production car," he said.

"Much as I would like to be challenging Eugene there is no way I can go back on the deals I made earlier in the year."

Now the best Higgins can hope for in Ulster is to limit the points damage Donnelly can do by finishing as close behind him as possible to keep the Tarmac title race alive until the final round in Cork in October.

But it would help enormously if there was someone who could beat Donnelly.

And if you needed to find a driver who might just do it who would you turn to? The answer would have to be Kris Meeke.