Hold on to your helmets...

Hold on to your helmets... Mansell is back on track at Silverstone! ‘Our Nige’ will be turning back the clock and reviving memories of his glory years as the Grand Prix Masters makes its UK debut next month.

Following the lead set by other sports such as golf and tennis, the new series sees Formula One stars of yesteryear back in the hot seat, renewing old rivalries and trying to recreate their heydays.

The inaugural showcase was staged in South Africa at the tail end of

last year and, according to the organisers, the big-name turn-out exceeded every­one’s wildest expectations; the event was a huge hit with a sell-out crowd. A second GP Masters race was held in the Middle East earlier this year, and now the veterans are heading to Silverstone on 13 August.

To date, Mansell remains unbeaten, and he’s determined to complete a GP Masters hat-trick on home soil. If so, we could see the return of ‘Mansell Mania’ - the fervent support of thousands of F1 fans in the late Eighties and early Nineties, when he was roared on to three magical British Grand Prix victories at the Northamptonshire venue.

“Silverstone will be very special,” admitted the competitive 52-year-old Midlander. “Racing in front of a home crowd will be a surreal and mighty experience. My last grand prix there was back in 1992, and it was one of many victories that season which culminated in me clinching the world championship. It would be absolutely great to see tens of thousands of fans turning up at Silverstone - the crowds are second to none. It’ll make all the memories flood back.

“People power used to pull me around that place - giving me about half-a-second a lap over my rivals,” Man­sell continued. “The thought of going back makes me want to pinch myself. What’s more, to be driving what is effectively an old-style F1 car in a modern specification is a dream come true.”

Although the GP Masters single-seaters aren’t as hi-tech as current F1 machines, they still pack quite a punch. Each is powered by a 3.3-litre V8 producing more than 600bhp, so top speeds at Silverstone will be close to 200mph. And, as all the sporting legends are armed with identical cars, competition is certain to be fierce.

As his pair of victories suggest, Mansell has been very much the man to beat in the opening two events

- although that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other potential winners among the over-45s on parade. Sadly, Alain Prost hasn’t yet been wooed out of retirement to take part, but there are several other former GP victors on the grid: René Arnoux, Riccardo Patrese and Patrick Tambay, plus another ex-world champion, Emerson Fittipaldi.

Always keen to be the underdog, Mansell is quick to play up the opposition. “Some of the drivers have been taking it a lot more seriously than the initial race in South Africa. They’re all a lot fitter, while I’m not. With businesses to deal with and the racing careers of my two sons to look after, I haven’t done enough training. It would be amazing to win again at Silverstone, although I think I might have to sneak in a more powerful engine!”

There were accusations the opening pair of races had been more about headline-grabbing showbiz than real wheel-to-wheel racing. Critics also claimed that the two big box office names - Mansell and Fittipaldi - had been allowed to dominate the track action rather than some of their lesser-known fellow past masters.

After all, a win for competitors such as Christian Danner, Eliseo Salazar or even Derek Warwick is hardly going to be big news. But Mansell has been swift to rubbish those claims. “Everything is transparent, all the garages and drivers sharing information,” he said.

Whatever the goings on behind the scenes, for some the sight of Mansell back behind the wheel of a powerful single-seater race car at Silverstone will be too good to be true.

And, in an era when we haven’t had a British driver win a grand prix for nearly four seasons or a home-bred world champ for a decade, who can blame any UK race fans for wanting to recreate the magic of Mansell Mania?

General admission weekend tickets are priced at ?35 for adults and ?17.50 for children under 12. For more information, either call the Silverstone ticket hotline on 0870 458 8260 or log on to www.gpmasters.com for details.