South Mall to be transformed into racing track this weekend as F1 car on show

Cork city centre will become a race track this Saturday night, with the two-time drifting champion and Cork native Conor Shanahan returning home for a major motorsport celebration, part of the Oracle Red Bull Racing tour.
Fresh from an impressive season in the 2026 Drift Masters championship, Shanahan comes back to Cork for the Red Bull Homerun, a high octane city centre motorsport show, which will feature the Formula One championship winning racing RB7 car, along with some motorsport guests.

The event will take place in the heart of Cork city centre, on a purpose built track on South Mall and Anglesea Street, showcasing the iconic RB7 F1 car, and Shanahan in his Toyota GT86.

The RB7 is the F1 car that helped to guide Oracle Red Bull to both the Formula One constructors’ and drivers' World Championships in 2011.

Driven by Sebastian Vettel and Australian driver Mark Webber, the RB7 has been defined as one of the most dominant F1 cars ever built, winning 12 of the 19 races, and claiming all but one pole position during the 2011 season.

23-year-old Killavullen native Shanahan is a multiple Formula Drift winner, with victories across Europe and the US.

He began drifting at nine years of age, competing in the Irish Amateur Drift Championship, before attracting wider attention when he was 13 with an appearance on the Grand Tour.

Shanahan went on to become the youngest driver to win British, Irish and European professional drifting events.

In 2023, he secured his first Drift Masters title, after a season long championship battle, securing the title following victory at the Grand Finale in Warsaw, Poland, in front of 53,000 spectators.

The event kicks off at 8pm on the South Mall on Saturday night and runs until 9.30pm.