Gareth MacHale is an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 rally

Rallying

Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

 driver, who has scored points in the World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship

The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...

.

Career

MacHale comes from a family with a background in rallying. His father Austin MacHale is a five-time Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

Irish Tarmac Rally Championship

The Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is Ireland's premier rallying series. The championship, made up of events run on closed tarmac roads, was first run in 1978.-Current events:The following events are currently part of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship:...

 champion. Gareth's younger brother Aaron is also a rally driver.

MacHale competed in an eight-round programme in the 2006 World Rally Championship season in a privately-entered Ford Focus WRC

Ford Focus WRC

The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification...

. He finished sixth on Rally Mexico

2006 Rally México

The 20º Corona Rally México, the third round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season took place from March 3–5, 2006.-Event:The event saw the first win of the season for Sébastien Loeb...

, scoring three world championship points. In 2007 he competed in five WRC events, finishing eighth on his home round Rally Ireland

Rally Ireland

Rally Ireland was a new addition to the FIA World Rally Championship calendar in 2007. It was not part of the 2008 schedule, but returned as the First round of the championship in 2009. The North-South event is the largest sporting occasion on the island of Ireland with over 250,000 spectators and...

, which was being run as a WRC event for the first time. He competed in Rally Ireland again in 2009, but retired.

In 2008 MacHale competed in the Race of Champions

Race of Champions

The Race of Champions is an international motorsport event held at the end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers...

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In 2010 he followed in his father's footsteps by winning the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship for the first time.