More than 50,000 people attended the Dunlop Phoenix Park Races at the weekend, and according to Motorsport Ireland the event was "a huge success".
While all the spectators could hear was the revving of high-powered engines, the races provided motorsports fans with a feast of sights.
Admission was free, and while not a championship event, the races were competitive in classes such as Formula Ford, Formula Vee and RT2000.
For the less devout racing fans, special displays were held of Dunlop Classic cars and the Luke Lawlor motorcycle collection, which turned out to be the highlight of the show.
Mr Lawlor, a former TT champion himself, has a large collection of rare bikes, of which four were featured in the display. The bikes were in good hands, ridden by former the motorcycle world champions Phil Read, Luigi Taveri and Jim Redman.
For those with no interest in competitive motor racing, there were stands concentrating on the lighter side of motoring, including the Irish Ford Capri Club, and a virtual reality racing simulator.
The races are one of the oldest motorsports events in Ireland or Britain, dating back to 1903. They were hugely popular at the start of the century, to the extent that Ireland had its own Grand Prix in 1929, which attracted more than 100,000 spectators.
Mr Oisin O Briain, communications officer for Motorsport Ireland (formerly the Royal Irish Automobile Club), hopes those days will return but admits: "Domestic motorsport has never really given itself good coverage in this country . . . it has got to the stage that there are too many drivers and not enough races for them to compete in. We hope to change that."
Mr O Briain acknowledges the work of others in heightening Ireland's motorsports profile: "Formula One and Jordan and Eddie Irvine have helped, and we want to capitalise on that, starting here. And, if nothing else, it certainly brings a lot of people to the Phoenix Park. It's one of the biggest free shows in the country".
The next big Irish motorsport event is the Leinster Trophy which will take place at Mondello Park on September 18th. Motorsport Ireland can be contacted at (087) 257-2497, or at 34 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.