Yesterday saw the inaugural running of the GP Masters series where retired (i.e. old) racing drivers are given the opportunity to race once again. This is supposed to be a fun event for the over 40’s but judging by the racing from Kyalami they were all taking it very, very seriously. The line-up included previous champions Jones, Fittipaldi and Mansell along with other such greats as Arnoux, Laffite, Tamby, Stuck and Patrese. Alain Prost is also supposed to be joining the series next year.

The format is very simple– up to 20 drivers in identical cars with only the minimum of set-up changes being allowed to be made by each team. Race weekend format is similar to how F1 was a few years ago before they started tinkering with qualifying. So there is practice sessions on Friday. Twelve lap qualifying on Saturday and a 30 lap race on the Sunday. To join the club you must:

• Have retired from all forms of open wheel racing
• Have competed in F1 for two complete seasons
• Have passed a medical examination
• Be more than 45 years on the 1st Jan for the season to follow, and have retired from F1 for two complete seasons.

As if to prove that class rises to the top the qualifying and the race was dominated by the two champions: Mansell and Fittipaldi. In qualifying Mansell was half a second clear of the pack but in the race Fittipaldi harried Mansell all the way to the flag with less than half of second between them. Some 20 seconds behind them there was a fierce scrap for the minor places. All of which was immensely enjoyable to watch – not something you can say about modern F1 too often these days.

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