Sunday's second annual Women in Motorsport track day at Killarney was overlaid with a quiet hum of excitement as hundreds of women gathered to celebrate the one day of the year when they can get out on the circuit and enjoy themselves without the guys getting in the way.
And, of course, it was the Women's Day weekend.
There were lots of men around, to be sure - husbands, boyfriends, fathers, sons - but for once they were there in a supportive role: pumping tyres, filling fuel tanks, checking helmet straps and fastening racing harnesses. And the expression on every face was one of pride that the ladies in their lives were part of this special day.
By the time registration opened at 8.30am the long tables in the pits lane were three deep with women waiting their turn to sign on for hot laps in race cars, for track sessions on motorcycles - their own or demo models provided by local dealers - or for sideways fun on the skid pan.
The day began with a roar as GTI Challenge racing cars were warmed up for the hot laps and ladies were strapped in for the ride.
Most looked a little nervous going out but came back from two laps at near-race pace (my lady said her pilot got it sideways on every corner of her second lap!) with huge grins and unable to stop talking - and usually every second word was "Awesome!".
Then it was the turn of the two-wheelers, with women on bikes of every description ranging from a 125cc Honda e-Storm(no, I'm not kidding, check the gallery) to a Kawasaki Ninja 250R to a fire-breathing KTM RC8 V-twin superbike.
MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION
On the skid pan the ladies were getting happily, extravagantly sideways in the cars provided for the purpose by a local Hyundai dealer and, on the motocross circuit, experienced off-road racers were showing riders how to get the best out of their motocross and enduro bikes - and then taking them on outrides to put into practice what they'd learned.
After lunch it was the turn of Live to Race, a club for owners of exotic cars keen to give something back to the sport that has given them so much pleasure. They lined up in Cobras, Porsches, a GT40 and even a Lamborghini to share their magnificent obsession with children from Reach for a Dream.
Four cars lined up for hot laps at the inaugural Women in Motorsport track day in 2008. This year there were eight and they still weren't enough.
In 2010, spokesperson Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger said, Women in Motorsport will be bigger and better, with more cars standing by for hot laps, more bikes to ride and a track session for lady drivers in their own cars.