Nicole Drought has a busy weekend ahead. On Saturday she visits Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk to defend her MSVR Trackday Trophy Championship lead. Nicole and her team mate Justin Roberts have taken three wins already this season and the duo sit at the top of the Championship standings in the EBC Brakes Honda Civic with a nine point gap as the calendar reaches the half way point.
Should she taste the bubbly once again though, there won’t be time for celebrations as she will be rushing from the track to fly back to Ireland.
The reason? Nicole will taste NASCAR power next Sunday when she takes the wheel of the iconic 1989 Team Ireland Chevrolet Lumina NASCAR at the Carole Nash Historic Festival at Mondello Park.
She has driven a large variety of cars over the last number of years including two F1 cars, a GT3 Porsche and McLaren, a Lancia LC1, and the famous Group C March “Spirit of Miami” car.
Nicole has previously demonstrated the Lola T70-Chevrolet and the Spice-Hart C86 from the Martin Birrane Collection and is excited at the prospect of trying the Team Ireland Chevrolet, which normally resides in the Mondello Park Museum of Motorsport. The car is powered by a 5.8 litre V8 engine producing around 850bhp and back in the day, would have been capable of reaching 200mph on the US oval circuits. 
“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of such an iconic car”, said Nicole “I’ve been lucky enough to have driven many different historic cars but I have seen and heard the Chevrolet before, it looks, and sounds, awesome. I have to thank the Birrane family for once again entrusting me with one of the incredible cars from the Martin Birrane Collection! It is always a fantastic event so if you are attending, please come and say hi!”
The Carole Nash Historic Festival returns for 2024 on Saturday and Sunday, the 10th and 11th of August. This event offers a unique opportunity to step back in time and experience Ireland’s only historic motor race meeting, celebrating vintage, classic, and racing cars and bikes from the glamorous ’20s to the swinging ’60s. It’s an unmissable occasion for motor racing enthusiasts and car lovers.
On Track Events: The festival will feature live racing for the Dublin Grand Prix Trophy, the St. Brigid’s Trophy, and the Birrane Perpetual Trophy, showcasing the skill and adrenaline of drivers in vintage and classic vehicles. Additionally, there will be displays of pedigree Grand Prix motorcycles, complete with the unique sights and smells of distinctive two-stroke engines. There will be races for HRCA Historics, Pre ’55 Historics, Future Classics and Formula Ford 1600!
Off Track Attractions: Beyond the racing, the festival offers a world of entertainment and exploration. Highlights include:
- Classic and Vintage car shows
- Passenger laps with Irish motorsport stars Alex Dunne, Max Hart, and Jack Byrne
- Celebrations of 75 years of Jaguar sports cars with displays from Porsche Ireland, Jaguar Club Ireland, and Jaguar & Daimler Ireland
- Swing and brass bands to set the nostalgic mood
- A vintage funfair, carnival games, face painting, and street food pop-ups
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