Former world champion Jenson Button and his Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 car were announced yesterday as the centrepiece of next summer’s Bavaria City Racing Dublin event.
It will be the first time ever that one of the leading Formula 1 teams in the world will drive the streets of Dublin and while the cars will not race each other, organisers have promised fast speeds in the demonstration drives.
The event will take place on June 3rd of next year and is expected to draw crowds of over 150,000. Work by Dublin City Council has already begun to ensure that the roads on the route will be smooth on what are high traffic city centre roads throughout the year.
Attendance will be free for the vast majority coming to watch some of the best in the world of motorsport race through Dublin city centre, including the capital's controversial 30 kph zone. However, some ticketed zones will be in place.
The track starts at the Convention Centre and continues along Customs House Quay before crossing Butt Bridge and onto D'Olier Street past College Green and the Central Bank on Dame Street before reaching the chequered flag on O'Connell Bridge.
For those who want to get closer to the action there are three ticketed "premium performance zones" on the track at Customs House Quay, O'Connell Bridge and at the Main Paddock on North Wall Quay. Tickets for these areas are priced from €75.90 and are available from Ticketmaster.
A spokesman for the event said that they expected that 94 per cent of the people coming to the event would do so free of charge.
He added that the organisers were delighted with yesterday's announcement bringing the Vodafone-McLaren Formula 1 team to Dublin, who he said would be the "centrepiece of the Bavaria City Racing Dublin experience".
"They are a premier F1 team and Jenson is one of the leading drivers in world motorsport," he said.
City Racing, featuring high-tech Formula 1 cars, has been taking place in Moscow and Rotterdam since 2006 but comes to Dublin for the first time next summer.
The events feature demonstrations by drivers from Formula 1 with international racing cars. The City Racing in Rotterdam last August attracted some 500,000 spectators.
Robert Hyland, Sponsorship Manager at Vodafone Ireland forecasted yesterday that next summer's event would be one that the Irish capital will remember for years to come.
"We are truly excited at the prospect of bringing the Formula 1 experience to Dublin. Jenson is one of the sport's great ambassadors and we are delighted to be able to help showcase what he and the cars can do in front of an Irish audience. It will be a massive event for the city that will be remembered for years to come."