Ireland deserves a WRC round

So, the island of Ireland is bound for the World Rally Championship again. According to those lining the Ulster streets last week, it has to be. I know because I was there among them.

And I couldn't agree more. You almost had to feel sympathy for the European Rally Championship - the Circuit of Ireland's calendar host for this season - in the way the series was entirely overshadowed by a single event.

There were plenty who felt short-changed by the ERC: the series, they felt, had brought an entry in its 30s to an event which should have numbered in hundreds. And an Irish Tarmac round bolted on the back of the 'main' event with 80-plus on the roster did little to quell that feeling.

Anybody in any doubt about the Circuit's potential, only had to talk to Citroen star Kris Meeke. Concerned by the Dungannon man's vested interest? Then talk to a Finn who'd never seen the roads before in his life. Talk to Esapekka Lappi, the fella who was fastest from start to finish.

"Just add another day on," says Lappi, "and this event should be in the world championship."

But Lappi's only won one. What about a drivers who's won, say, seven. What about Jimmy McRae?

"Couple of days around Belfast then down to Dublin for the day and you've the perfect WRC round," was his view.

Our man Evans experienced the event first hand

Two years ago, when the Circuit was a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge - which morphed into the ERC at the start of 2013 - nobody was talking about Ireland's return to the WRC. All anybody wanted was another Circuit in 2013.

Now, nobody's going to be satisfied with that. All anybody wants now is the world to come to Belfast in 2015.

But can it happen?

In short, no. Not a chance. Ireland won't have a WRC round next season. But there's no reason why it shouldn't in 2016.

Right now, there's neither the finance or the fixture for a WRC round. The Circuit's budget was around £500,000 last week; three or four times that amount would be needed to bring the WRC to town.

The FIA is keen on the positive politics of dual country WRC rounds - Poland's trip to Latvia bears testament to that in the same way Sweden's away day in Norway has for some time - and a cross-border Circuit would be a must for a potential WRC event.

And therein lies the problem: Ireland's still strapped for cash. And without the kind of 50-50 north-south contribution we saw from Rally Ireland in 2007 and 2009, a cross-border Circuit wouldn't work.

As for the fixture, WRC Promoter has made it clear it's not about to favour an increase in the number of rounds from 13 any time soon. So, a rally would have to be kicked out to make room for the Circuit. That's not necessarily a problem - there are comparatively lame events which couldn't hold a candle to the stages and service set-up on offer in and around the Titanic Quarter last week.

The problem comes in FIA president Jean Todt's determination to put the world back into the World Rally Championship. And it's Brazil, not Belfast which forms the beginning of the economic totem BRIC.

Nobody is more aware of all of the above than Bobby Willis. Which is why the Circuit's event director was looking increasingly harassed as the WRC talk gathered momentum through last week.

"We must walk before we can run," he says. "Personally, I would love to get the WRC - that's the place every event organiser wants to be, but we have to be realistic."

And five years of working on the Circuit have made Willis nothing if not realistic. Having emptied his own bank account into the Circuit in 2012, he couldn't afford it last year and had to cancel the event for fear of financial oblivion.

But, with backing from Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the game was back on for this year. And, for Willis, the economics of the ERC make sense: you pay your money, you get your television coverage.

Lappi took a dominant victory

And, don't get me wrong, Eurosport's coverage painted a worthy picture - but it's the beauty of the subject which holds the true value. And that value can only be truly realised in the WRC, the home of the best rallies in the world. And that's why Meeke will be leaving no stone unturned as he attempts to show his new world championship pals what's on offer in his backyard.

"I'll do anything I can to help Bobby," says Meeke. "I'll go to meetings, talk to tourist boards, anything. What we had in Belfast last week was truly incredible, but it was just a taster of what we could have if we brought the WRC back to Ireland. This rally has a genuinely rich history in the sport and, at the same time, the roads really are among the best in the world.

"OK, we had some good weather, but looking beyond that, we have a world-class service park and a country which is used to running rallies in its four corners week-in week-out."

The Circuit's on the crest of a wave right now and Willis will make it his business to use the momentum to drive it forward. He's right about another year of ERC next season, but between now and then it's absolutely vital that the upper echelons of our sport on both the commercial and sporting side are made entirely aware of the potential of the event.

And it's because of that potential that I've banged on about economics and BRICs instead of Guinness, Hamiltons Folly and McRae's glorious V8 Magnum, running as a zero car ahead of the ERC leaders.

For me, there's something about Ireland. Always has been. There's an intensity about sport there, but it's an intensity which comes with a smile. And a pint.

I went to the Circuit early last week. It'd been too long since I'd ventured to the Irish Sea's far side and I wanted to make the most of it. On Meeke's advice, I headed for some of the country's classic roads, including Molls Gap, Glendalough and the Tim Healy Pass. I loved it. Skoda Ireland's Superb was just that and the journey gave me more than a moment to remember just how good this place is.

I'm no driver, but I do know a good stretch of black top when I find it and Meeke's not wrong - those lanes are some of the best in the world.

It's not going to happen immediately, but with some careful guidance and good governance, the Circuit of Ireland could realise the dreams of the thousands of Irish rally fans. And me.