Gareth MacHale, the number one seed, has withdrawn from the Circuit of Ireland Rally which gets under way in Derry on Saturday morning.
MacHale has entered the Rally of Argentina in two weeks' time and needs to get the car to South America this weekend in preparation for the next round of the World Rally Championship.
Last year's winner Derek McGarrity, Irish Tarmac Championship leader Eugene Donnelly and Gareth's father Austin MacHale will all be competing on the three day Circuit of Ireland.
