Mondello hosts British GT rounds

Mondello is to host two rounds of the prestigious British GT Championship next weekend, featuring Ferraris, Porsches and TVRs vying for top prize around the Co Kildare track.

The line-up will include the latest racing versions of Ferrari's F360 up against the might of the Porsche GT3 RS and a rare GT3 RSR, which is the only 2004 version of Porsche's world famous 911 Supercar in the series.

The British GT Championship, featuring 16 rounds held over eight weekends, is undergoing something of a resurgence thanks in part to the arrival of Frenchman Stephan Ratel to head the championship.

Ratel was responsible for turning the equivalent French series from a 20-car grid to a 60-car grid in just a few years. The Mondello event is the second weekend meeting of the season.

In all there will be eight Porsches and five Ferraris on the grid, with the Chevrolet and Lotus marques being the next strongest numerically - there are three Corvettes and three Elises on the entry list.

Among the entrants of particular home interest, Matt Griffin from Cork will take part in a Vauxhall Monaro, a racing version of the production car which is now being sold in Britain, though it remains unavailable to the Irish motoring public.

Northern Irish driver Tim Mullen will race with the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari team and should be one of the favourites for overall victory.

Peter LeBas from Co Clare - these days based in California - will drive a Chevrolet Corvette for the Xero team.

Other events on the fixture list for next weekend include the first ever Irish-held stage of the European historic GT and Touring Car event, featuring classic versions of the cars racing in the main GT championship.

The fun begins on Friday with practice, followed by two days of racing and qualifying, which feature two races for each of the visiting classes.

The feature event of the weekend, the two one-hour British GT races, take place on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.