The French have Le Mans; the Americans have Daytona; the Irish have Mondello Park. The Republic's premier race track was home to the world famous 24 hour race, run exclusively for Citroën 2CVs. It was an attraction few other forms of motorsport can boast of and it provided more fun per mile than any other kind of motorsport.

Mondello Park is a tight and twisty circuit, near the town of Naas, about 30 minutes west of Dublin. The circuit is a perfect blend of hairpins, double apex corners, sweeping curves and straights; the main one long enough to give the driver a welcome breather. The early summer  weather delivers its fair share of excitement too, ranging from glorious sunshine to driving rain, fog and mist. Drivers must remain alert at all times, because Mondello never fails to conjure up the unexpected.

A maximum of 40 cars entered, each one shared by 3-4 drivers. During the race each driver could expect to compete for around 250 miles, more track time than 2 seasons worth of normal racing. The race was the blue riband event in the 2CVParts.com 2CV Championship, and the series regulars were joined by an army of novices, Clubman racers and well known professionals. All competed for the highest honour - taking the chequered flag first; but there were plenty more trophies on offer: a prize for best placed car from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Europe; the Ian Gamon-Hardway 'Spirit of the Meeting' Trophy, the 'Rookie of the Year' Award for the drivers of the highest placed 'novice' car, plus the 'Le Premier Escargot Mort' wooden spoon for the first retiree of the event.

The fun started on Thursday, when free practice began. Teams spent hours honing their machines in preparation for Friday's qualifying. All drivers had to qualify, the grid being decided on the best average time for all drivers. Race day was Saturday and after a morning warm up, the pitlane was closed at 1.30pm and all entrants lined up on the grid and waited for the clock to tick towards the rolling start at 2pm. Watching 40 screaming 2CV's fly past the green flag is a slightly insane but genuinely moving moment. Only 23 hours and 58 minutes to go.

Now the real test begins: as co-drivers, Team Managers, mechanics and crew stand on the pit wall waiting patiently for their pride and joy to reassuringly appear once every 1 minute 20 seconds, the drivers must drive flat out for the full duration of their 3 hour stint. Far from plodding round and round, they must dice for position; accommodate faster cars overtaking, often sideways, at inopportune moments; carve past slower cars determinded to get in the way, and cruise past broken cars limping back to the pits at close to walking speed. Then there's the heat, the thirst, the fatigue, the momentary laps of concentration that send the car crashing into the gravel trap. Most are able to drive right out again, but beached or stranded cars are towed back to the pits behind the rescue truck and an automatic penalty of 5 laps. These incidents bring out the Pace Car, which prompts half the field to buzz into the pits like bees around a hive, each one desparate for a 'splash and dash' (a quick top up of fuel) or a full blown pit stop with driver change. Changing drivers, brake pads, tyres, etc while the race pace is at half speed behind the safety car saves precious minutes. The Team Manager needs to be a skilled tactician to make the call to pit at the right moment. He or she also needs to inform Race Control of driver changes, plus purchase enough fuel tokens to fill the car one jerry can at a time.

As the sun sets, the driving becomes more difficult as a myriad spot lights on full beam illuminate the tarmac, night sky and drivers' eyes (don't forget to tape up the rear window to preserve forward visibility). The 'graveyard slot' in the early morning, is often the most challenging - most accidents occur here, when tiredness sets in and driver concentration fails as regularly as the auxilliary lights strapped to the bonnet.

The dawn brings with it fresh optimism. Memories of a night dogged by engine swaps, driver errors, Red Bull and sleep deprivation are replaced by hope - hope that the drivers can fight back through the order, that mechanical failures are suffered by others, and above all the car holds together. Reliability is the watchword rather than outright speed.

As 2pm approaches, most of the 40 entrants will still be running - dirty, battle scarred but running. In the last hour, breakdowns can be heart breaking as the 'No Tow-In' rule comes into force. With a lap to go it is not infrequent that some cars are still battling for position, 1000 laps after the race started. All finishers are given raptuous applause as they cross the line, but the loudest cheer is saved for those really sick cars which take to the track one last tiime and limp round to take the finish, often with the starter motor providing the only source of forward motion.

After 24 hours of close racing, frantic action and good fun, the entire paddock decamps to the bar for the prize giving and copious amounts of well earned Guinness. It is an experience that should not be missed by any fan of motorsport.