HAPTON co-driver Daniel Barritt is hoping for the luck of the Irish this weekend.

But he fears the weather might put a dampener on the occasion.

Fresh from his first recce of what has been described as the most important motorsport event ever held in Ireland, Barritt, who will be alongside Japan's Fumio Nutahara in the Mitsubishi Lancer E9, admitted it has all the hallmarks of being a very tough event.

He said: "It's really slippy, there's a lot of dirt on the road and it's going to make it extra hard."

This is the first World Championship rally in Ireland, the first new country to hold such an event since Japan and Mexico in 2004.

With a ceremonial start tonight at Stormont, it is a cross-border event, with 14 stage locations - six in Ulster (the British province) and eight in the Republic of Ireland, finishing on Sunday.

And because it is one of the few events based on tarmac roads, it is even more difficult than usual to negotiate.

Barritt said: "To be fair, it would be a lot easier if the weather was dry, but all the reports we've had is that it's going to be a wet one.

"But it's something I'm really looking forward to. It's the first ever WRC rally in Ireland and it's quite close to home really. It's a big thing for the country and I think it's taken them about 10 years to get to this stage."

Despite crashing out in his last event in Japan and suffering a similar fate in Argentina earlier in the Championship, Barritt is remaining upbeat about the pair's chances this weekend.

He added: "I'd like to think we can finish in the top three. It's just the conditions. They're going to be so difficult you're almost having to go slower so that you make it to the end.

"I think if you end up going fast, you'll end up off the road altogether."