World champion Sebastien Loeb won Rally Ireland last November

Rally Ireland co-founders Sean O'Connor and Ronan Morgan have announced that they are to stand down from the promotion and management of the event.

The pair will step down from their positions at the end of September.

"The event now has a very strong foundation and Alex Sinclair and his colleagues in Motorsport Ireland can take it to the next level," they said.

"It was a pleasure and a privilege to grow Rally Ireland from just a dream to a world-class success," they added.

Rally Ireland will be staged again in January 2009 and will be the first round of the World Rally Championship.