Drivers wow at Bavaria City Racing

F1 star Jenson Button gives a thumbs up at Bavaria City Racing in Dublin
Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Anyone in and around Dublin this afternoon could be forgiven for assuming a T. rex had somehow invaded the Irish capital, such was the roar from the Formula 1 cars at the Bavaria City Racing event.

More than 110,000 people turned out on an extremely cold and wet Sunday to check out the sights, sounds and smells of F1 in Dublin.

This was the first time Ireland hosted the popular event and 70 vehicles, featuring both international and home-grown motor sport talent, made the line up.

Jenson Button takes to the streets of Dublin in the Vodafone McLaren F1 car
Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

While former World Champion Jenson Button reached speeds of up to 160kph on the narrow city track in the Vodafone McLaren F1 car, the day was not without its mishaps.

He ended up in reverse after appearing to misread a tight corner on Dame Street on his first run out in the McLaren MP4 Supercar.

There were no such incidents in the F1 car though, which he perfectly manoeuvered to give two flawless performances.

The five-hour spectacular featured a host of other displays, including 1930s style American sedans, a race car demo and GP2 and Formula 3000 stars.

Galwegian Mattie Griffin wowed the crowd with his BMW bike stunts, as did his fellow Monster Street Mania colleague Terry Grant, who showed off his ultimate car control.

Meanwhile, Button wasn’t the only driver to suffer a mishap – the GP2 car broke down on the track and one of the Legends Sprint performers had to get a push back to the paddock from a team mate.

Giedo van der Garde takes the Caterham Formula 1 Team car for a spin at Bavaria City Racing in Dublin
Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Button was driving the F1 car he won the Canadian Grand Prix in last year. Afterwards, he said it was great to see such a big crowd, despite the adverse weather conditions.

He added: ‘The main thing for us was putting on a show so the weather didn’t really make much of a difference.

‘This event is great for motorsports fans in Ireland, they got to hear and see a F1 car and just went crazy.’

Peer Swinkels of Bavaria NV said: ‘We’re extremely proud of having been able to bring the top [talent] in motor sport to Dublin.

‘After Rotterdam and Moscow, the city centre of Dublin and its remarkable locations offer a magnificent new décor to treat the crowd to a true Formula One spectacle.’

Check out our videos of Jenson Button’s performances and of the Race Car Demo.