Rally fans will converge on Mondello Park tomorrow to see Carlos Sainz, the world's greatest rally driver in action in a "head-to-head" against Irish champion Austin McHale.
The rally followers will then disperse, some to Wexford to see the Sunday stages of the two-day event in the sunny south east, and on Sunday the Mondello regulars will be joined by thousands of Formula One supporters to meet Belgian Grand Prix winner, Jordan's Damon Hill.
And there will be a virtual feast of motor racing with the final round of the Euroseries for Formula Opel in the International Leinster Trophy race and the Toyota Boss Formula One race bringing all the sound and spectacle of Grand Prix racing to the 2.25 miles International Circuit at the Co Kildare venue.
Sainz (36) is the most successful driver in World Championship rallying with 22 wins to his credit. He has twice won the championship and is the current leader. The Spaniard is no stranger to Ireland, for as a teenager he spent two summers in Dublin learning English and he raced a Formula Ford 2000 at Mondello Park in the Leinster Trophy in the early 1980s.
Tomorrow afternoon he will put the latest World Championship-leading Toyota Corolla WRC through its paces in timed laps. Five times Irish Tarmac Rally champion Austin McHale will also drive the Corolla WRC for the first time. He hopes to defend his tarmac title next year in one of these high-tec Corolla WRC's, in place of his very successful Celica GT4.
After 14 rounds of the Formula Opel EU Championship, South African Etienne Van der Linde leads on 177 points from Paul Stewart Racing's Andrew Kirkaldy (159), Italian Andrea Piccini (111), Dutchman Jacky Van der Ende (108) and Brazilians Fernando Pantani (105) and Wagner Ebrahim (104).
Formula One World Championship winners expected at Mondello to oversee their team drivers are Jackie Stewart for Kirkaldy and Jody Scheckter whose son Toby is one of the up and coming drivers in this highly competitive formula that has spawned a number of current Formula I drivers, notably Mika Hakkinen who won the Bridgestone Leinster Trophy 10 years ago. The Flying Finn currently shares the World Championship lead with arch rival Michael Schumacher.
The Boss Championship F1 cars thrilled the capacity crowd at the RAC Super Prix back in May, and their return to Mondello for the Toyota Ireland-sponsored race on Sunday will certainly upstage the Euro Formula Opels for sheer speed and raw horsepower.
RAC Super Prix winner Nigel Greensall returns with his Tyrrell-Judd and given good weather conditions he is set fair to break his own lap record of 84.28 mph Also entered are Tony Worswick in a Jordan, Ron Cummin and Klaas Zwart in a pair of Footworks, all powered by Judd engines.
Dublin woman Sarah Kavanagh is hoping to have her first race in a Jordan, and is frantically trying to have the car ready in time. She was third in the RAC Super Prix driving a Formula 3000 car.
Three drivers can win the Ford of Ireland Championship for Formula Ford Zetec. Chris Paul leads on 95 points (91 on dropped scored) from Neil Shanahan on 87 and Philip Kehoe on 84 (82 on dropped scores). After winning five races Shanahan has suffered from two poor performances through car troubles at Kirkistown and he was the victim of some suspect driving tactics by a driver not in contention for the championship at the last Mondello meeting.
