26 March 2002: The World Rally Experience will be held this year at Punchestown Racecourse on Sunday 21 July. The event brings some of the biggest names and teams from world rallying to Ireland.

The one day spectacle is restricted to 40 cars and run over a 4Km Asphalt stage with each driver completing six runs.

Last year, the first running of the event, over 12,000 sports fans were treated to a star line-up of drivers and teams which included World Rally Champion Richard Burns (above) & the Subaru World Rally Team, Freddy Loix (below) & his Mitsubishi World Rally Team, two times world rally champion Miki Biasion (bottom) in the high revving Fiat Punto Kit car and multiple European champion Patrick Snijers. A further 250,000 watched the action on national television.

As well as the rally stars, the event also saw a number of high profile personalities take on the role of rally co-driver and experience ‘the ride of their lives’.

Former World Snooker Champion Ken Doherty, Olympic Boxing Gold Medallist Michael Carruth, Irish Rugby International Victor Costello, Sports Minister James McDaid TD and others got to sample the high speed thrill of top level world rallying.

Already working on creating an even bigger and more spectacular event for 2002, the World Rally Experience is set once again to attract world rallying’s biggest stars to this Irish event.

©2002irishcar.com