THE eyes of the motor-sport world will be on Sussex next month with probably the greatest clash of titans of the track has seen in decades - at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

World Rally champion Colin McRae will have full Ford works backing for his Focus WRC in a head-to-head against Richard Burns in the works Prodrive Subaru Impreza WRC.

Both are out to target Jonathan Palmer's 100mph record for the spectacular twisting hillclimb course.

That 45-second dash from standing start to flying finish at the crest of the South Downs was set with a Williams Formula 1 racer in 1996.

Also entered is Michelle Mouton, already one of the fastest ever up the hill, who will be piloting the Audi Quattro Sport S1 Evo, again special-ly prepared by the factory for her to target the record.

And as well as bringing its Le Mans team straight from the 24-hour sports car classic, centenary-celebrating Audi will have Harold Bemuth in the amazing Audi Quattro Pikes Peak from the American mountain racing thriller.

Piling on the power to uphold the Formula 1 reputa-tion, there will again be entries from the Williams and McLaren teams.

But it will be an emotional event for Stewart ace Rubens Barrichello as he drives the McLaren Honda MP4/6 that his late great friend and countryman Ayrton Senna raced in 1991.

The McLaren is one of six F1 cars from the Honda Collection in Japan being brought to the event - another will be driven by Sir Jack Brabham. Emerson Fittipaldi is returning too, with one of the most powerful machines on four wheels.

Other F1 past heroes included in the entry list are Michele Alboreto and Patrick Tambay whose commitments include driving a Ferrari and a Renault respectively in the class for F1 cars of the 1980s, the age of turbochargers and ground effects for electrifying performance.

In a tribute to the Le Mans 24-hour classic there will be no fewer than 30 race winners, with Porsche bringing some of its finest machines to be piloted by champions Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx and Hans Stuck.

Johnny Dumfries will be reunited with his 1988 Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR9LM, while former F1 driver JJ Lehto will make his Goodwood debut in the BMW V12LMR fresh from this year's French endurance classic.

"Sideshows" at this remarkable event, being held on June 18-20, include the Red Arrows and racing between four-horse chariots, for the theme A Millennium of Horsepower.

For tickets call 01243 755055 or fax 01243 755058.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.