Rally Ireland has been bitten hard by the credit crunch.

The entry list for the Irish round of the World championship is down by more than half from the event which heralded Ireland’s arrival in the series in 2007.

The big names, headed by five times World champion Sebastien Loeb, are there of course but the number of home competitors has dropped dramatically in a starting list which totals just 43.

Loeb, the 2007 Rally Ireland winner, and his Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo lead the starting list ahead of the Fords of Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala but the line-up is marked by the absence of the Subaru and Suzuki teams, both of whom have fallen victim of the recession in the car industry.

New Irish Tarmac champion Eamonn Boland heads the home contingent along with a trio of MacHales, Gareth, Aaron and Austin, as well as former World production champion Niall McShea, but other leading names like Eugene Donnelly, Derek McGarrity and new Irish national champion Patrick Elliott have chosen to skip the challenge of a World championship rally on their own doorstep.

They will all be in action on

the Galway International, opening round of the Irish Tarmac championship which takes place a fortnight earlier — with a capacity 150-strong entry — but many, like McGarrity, see Rally Ireland as too rough and too expensive.

“I can go to Galway and two other rounds of the Tarmac championship for the cost of doing Rally Ireland and in today’s economic situation that was a big factor in my decision,” says the triple Circuit of Ireland winner.

“Plus, from what we saw in 2007, the Rally Ireland stages are not typical Irish stages and not enjoyable. They are narrow and rough, and at this time of the year they are going to be covered in muck. The whole thing just doesn’t appeal to me.”

Four-times Tarmac champion Donnelly is another top name missing and says: “Rally Ireland simply isn’t in my budget. I’m going to Galway and I’m trying to put together a package to do the whole Tarmac championship but it is difficult.

“Times are tough and, to be

honest, Rally Ireland is a very hard event to sell to sponsors because all the coverage is going to be dominated by the big guys and there won’t be much left for the rest of us.

“I would love to be doing Rally Ireland again but, cost wise, it just isn’t possible. Finding 50,000 euros for one event is a big ask in the current climate and one I can’t justify.”

The top of the entry list is dominated by Citroens and Fords.

The official factory Citroens are joined by a trio of C4s from the junior team driven by Aussie Chris Atkinson, Junior World champion Sebastien Ogier and Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach.

There are six M-Sport Ford Focuses in the top 10, the ‘A’ team of Hirvonen, Latvala and Khalid Al Qassimi being joined by young Matthew Wilson, Henning Solberg and new recruit from Citroen, Urmo Aava.

Top of the Rally Ireland entry list:

1 Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena (Citroen C4); 2 Dani Sordo and Marc Marti (Citroen C4); 3 Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Focus); 4 Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Antilla (Ford Focus); 5 Matthew Wilson and Scott Martin (Ford Focus); 6 Urmo Aava and Kuldar Sikk (Ford Focus); 7 Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia (Citroen C4); 8 Chris Atkinson and Stephane Prevot (Citroen C4); 9 Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr (Ford Focus); 10 Henning Solberg and Cato Menkerud (Ford Focus); 11 Conrad Rautenbach and Daniel Barritt (Citroen C4); 12 Eamonn Boland and Damien Morrissey (Subaru Impreza); 14 Gareth McHale and Brian Murphy (Ford Focus); 15 Tim McNulty and Eugene O'Donnell (Subaru Impreza); 16 Aaron McHale and Killian Duffy (Ford Focus); 17 Gareth Jones and Clive Jenkins (Subaru Impreza); 18 Austin McHale and tba (Ford Focus); 19 Ray Breen and Martin Brady (Ford Focus: 20 Michael Barrable and Dermot O'Gorman (Ford Focus).