And they came in their droves to see it. Bus after bus ferried the 10,000 spectators from locations across the city into the grounds of the Stormont estate.

The buzz was electric with fans delighted to have the biggest names and best cars in rallying on their doorstep.

The Stormont estate was transformed into a 2km rally track with a specially designed bridge that provided an amazing flying finish.

The massive seating tower overlooking the track was packed to capacity with fans keen to see the likes of Citroen's Sebastian Leob and Ford driver Marcus Gronholm go head-to-head.

Thankfully the rain stayed off and a great night was had by all.

The event was given the royal seal of approval when Princess Anne dropped in to help First Minister Ian Paisley start proceedings.

This is the first time the World Rally Championship has come to Ireland and the inclusion is considered a coup for the city.

And rally fans inside the estate were lapping up the experience.

Regular rally goer Gerard Greene (50) brought his family to Belfast for the rally. The businessman from Dungloe, Co Donegal, described the atmosphere as "brilliant".

He said: "We've come up from Donegal. There's myself, my nephew, my son and his fiancee. It's great. I think it's great to see the World Rally Championship in Ireland."

Ballymena man Nigel Aiken (32) is an avid rally fan and hopes the Stormont Super Special Stage will be the first of many in the estate.

"The atmosphere is electric. It's fantastic, has all the makings of a great night out and is really well organised. It would be great to see more events like this in Belfast."

Dubliner Louis Smith (54) was enjoying his first visit to Stormont. The company director had travelled north of the border with his son especially for the event.

He said: "It is very impressive. I haven't been to a rally for many years. The last one I was at was about 10 years ago in Killarney but this is in a different league altogether. It's very impressive indeed."

Lorry driver Joseph Mulhern (18) from Killybegs, Co Donegal, drove for four hours to reach the rally. He and two friends had been at the Swedish rally but thought the Stormont event was better.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: "It's a good old spot. It's fairly well organised. We were in Sweden for the rally over there. This is great."

John Smith (18), a plumber also from Killybegs, was looking forward to seeing World Rally champion Sebastian Leob.

Barney Mahon (45) and his 16-year-old son Thomas travelled the three-and-a-half hours from Longford to watch the Super Special Stage.

They too were looking forward to watching rally number one driver at work.

Barney, who works in the motor trade, said: "I've been to loads of rallies before but the buzz about here is fantastic."

Meanwhile, clinical researcher Alex Kyle (32) from Carrickfergus and Andy Spence (37), a bathroom designer, were converted to the sport by last night's event.

Andy said: "The atmosphere is fantastic."

While Alex added: "The Guinness is good too."

The main rally starts in Co Sligo today.