FIA racing fever hits Mondello Park

This weekend Mondello Park stages the most important event in its 33-year history when a round of an FIA racing championship will be held for the first time in Ireland. The attraction of the FIA Sportscar Championship to the Kildare circuit is the result of four years of hard work and investment by the Mondello Park management team, who are indebted in this case for sponsorship support from Bord Failte.

"This is a significant step forward for the circuit" said Steve Lydon, Chief Executive of Mondello Park Ltd. "The opportunity to run a full FIA championship marks a turning point for Mondello and places it once and for all on the world wide motorsport map. We fully anticipate many more exciting series and championships to be visiting the circuit in the future."

Irelands' first ever endurance sportscar event will see twenty-four cars with more than 50 drivers take part in a gruelling 21/2 hour race on the challenging Mondello Park International circuit. Pit stops featuring driver changes and refuelling will be interesting elements of the event not previously witnessed by many Irish fans, which should add to the excitement of this terrific spectacle.

The entry list of drivers from 13 countries includes many famous sportscar racing names such as Dane, John Nielsen and a number of ex F1 drivers including Jan Lammers, Mauro Baldi and Alex Caffi. Irish interest will centre on Warren Carway who races in the SR2 class and the yet to be confirmed participation of Irish motorsport's top international driver Damien Faulkner.

Following two days of practice and qualifying the FIA Sportscar Championship race gets underway at 5:30pm on Saturday evening. There will be a support programme of FIA historic races on Saturday and on Sunday the historic competitors will take centre stage in the absence of the sportscar racers. Sunday's programme includes the second of two races for the incredibly competitive International Historic F2 Trophy and the FIA Lurani Trophy for Formula Junior cars. The Formula Junior entry includes examples of some of the most famous names in the sports' history with chassis from Lotus, Brabham and Cooper making up the grid. The event will be rounded out by a full and entertaining package of Irish Championship races.

Filed by Amanda Fennelly