Jimmy McRae on his way to his first Ulster Rally victory in 1981, the year he won both the British and Irish Rally Championships.

Scottish Rally legend Jimmy McRae will make a welcome return to Antrim in August when he tackles the Todds Leap Ulster Historic Rally in a Tuthill built Porsche 911.

McRae, from Lanarkshire in Scotland, was victorious on his Porsche Challenge debut on April’s Pirelli Historic Rally and will again be a favourite for victory on the Todds Leap Ulster Historic Rally, a counting round of the Dunlop/WONAGO MSA British Historic Rally Championship and the Tuthill Porsche Challenge.

The five-time British, and twice Irish Rally Champion first made his mark on the Ulster Rally in 1979, finishing second to Finnish team mate Pentti Airikkala in a Chevette HS and contributing to a notable first ever one-two for Vauxhall on an international event.

Jimmy’s first Ulster win in 1981, driving the Opel Ascona 400, set him on course for a unique double, winning both the British Open and the Irish Tarmac Championship in one year. Staying with Vauxhall/Opel for the next few seasons, and moving up to the Manta 400, Jimmy was always in the thick of the Ulster Rally action, battling with the similar works cars of Russell Brookes and Fermanagh’s Bertie Fisher against the new breed of four wheel drive supercars.

Jimmy had to wait to 1986 to get his hands on a supercar of his own and delivered Ulster victory number two at the wheel of the fearsome Rothmans backed Metro 6R4 and a change to the rear wheel drive turbo Ford Sierra Cosworth brought the tally of victories to three in 1988.

Commenting on his return to the Antrim based event, Jimmy said;

"Competing on the asphalt of Ireland is always a huge challenge, but it’s a place that holds some great memories for me. In a Porsche you benefit from better traction on the slippery asphalt, but you have to watch yourself over all the bumps. Having said that, it’s been a while since I’ve driven a proper asphalt rally, so I’m sure there’ll be a bit of catching up to do. I’m really looking forward to it though and it's great to be back behind the wheel of a Tuthill Porsche 911 again."

Richard Tuthill, the Challenge founder, said he was delighted that McRae would be making a second appearance in the series at the wheel of one of the identical Francis Tuthill-prepared Challenge-specification 3.0-litre 911s.

"It’s another great boost to the Challenge to have a driver of Jimmy’s calibre back in one of our cars alongside our regular competitors," said Richard Tuthill. "We’ve enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Jimmy and he showed on the Pirelli Historic Rally in April that he’s still got plenty to offer behind the wheel of historic Porsches. Not only is Jimmy a force on gravel but he’s a force on asphalt too so we can’t wait to see how he performs on the only Tarmac round of the Tuthill Porsche Challenge."

Before his appearance on the Todds Leap Ulster Historic Rally, McRae will take part in the Barbados Historic Rally Carnival from July 14-26 aboard a Tuthill Porsche-prepared 911.

Backed by Antrim Borough Council, Junction One, title sponsor Todds Leap and NITB, the award winning two day Ulster Rally will feature a five race line-up including Rally NI, the Ulster (WRC) Rally, the Ulster Historic Rally, and the Ulster Challenge and the Ulster National Rally.

The Todds Leap Ulster Rally encompasses127 competitive miles, 300 road miles and 14 stages in the Antrim and Mid-Ulster regions. Set to kick off at lunchtime on Friday 19th August with a ceremonial start at Courthouse Square in Antrim, the rally finishes at Junction One International Outlet Shopping Centre on Saturday 20th August.

Originally held in the Antrim area in 1976 when the inaugural Ulster Rally took place, the international event returns to the region for a third time after last year’s successful event which was voted Best British International Rally for the second consecutive year. Rally HQ will be based at the Holiday Inn Express at Junction One and the event’s Central Service Park will be located in a section of the outlet shopping complex’s extensive car parks. Organisers expect 300 drivers and co-drivers, supported by over 600 service crew, to be competing in up to 150 rally cars over the two day period.

The 2011 Todds Leap Ulster Rally is a counting round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, the Dunlop/WONAGO MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Tuthill Porsche Challenge 2011, Citroen Racing Trophy UK & Ireland, the Ford Fiesta Sport Trophy UK & Ireland, the Suzuki Swift Cup and the BRC Challenge including the Fiesta Sport Challenge and the Super 1000 Rally Series.

In 2010 the event attracted nearly 27,000 spectators, visitors, officials, and competitors from Ireland, the UK and further afield and generated over £2 million for the local economy. It’s also set to be broadcast on local TV, nationally and on global networks reaching an estimated audience of 30,000 on Rally Week-end.

For more information visit www.ulsterrally.com.