12 August 2002: A young Irish woman called Juliet Ward has been selected as one of six finalists in the Rally XS Pirelli Girl 2002 competition.

Juliet entered the competition in June through 'Rally XS' magazine. Last month, she was invited to England to take part in the final stage, competing against 23 other girls. The competition had drawn entries from an international field, including USA, Denmark, France, and Finland, as well as a multitude of entries from the UK and Ireland

She had a fantastic day, photo shoots, and interviews, played the Play station WRC game and she had to take part in quizzes about rallying. Later that evening, the final six were announced and Juliet was one of them.

Of the six finalists, not only is Juliet the only one who is Irish, but she is also the only one with a serious interest in rallying, having surprised her parents by developing an interest in the sport about 5 years ago.

Juliet was pleasantly surprised on hearing the Finalists prize- going to Prodrive to test-drive the WRC Subaru. A couple of the other girls were heard to ask- 'What is Prodrive?'

The winner of the competition will receive a year’s contract with DLP Models and will represent both Pirelli and Rally XS on the WRC circuit, a once in a lifetime opportunity. In addition, the winner will take a thrilling ride in a World Rally Car over a genuine rally stage with a top rally driver at the wheel.

If Juliet becomes the eventual winner she will be given the opportunity to travel the world, and rub shoulders with rallying's elite, including Pirelli's WRC star drivers, Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, Tommi Makinen, Peter Solberg and Markko Martin.

The winner will be chosen through a phone and online voting system. Vote online at www.pirelli.co.uk <http://www.pirelli.co.uk/> or www.wrc.com <http://www.wrc.com/>. You can also vote for Juliet by phone: From the RoI call 00 44 870 010 8650 and from Northern Ireland and the UK call 0901 381 0165.

Remember, unlike political elections, you really can- 'Vote Early and Vote Often'.