60th Anniversary Stars Get Ready For Action
Manama, 11th March 2010: The stars and the cars of this weekend’s 60th anniversary celebrations for the FIA Formula 1™ World Championship have already begun to make their presence felt in the countdown to this weekend’s season-opening Formula 1™ Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. A mouth-watering selection of championship-winning cars and landmark designs has been drawn together from around the world – to be joined by 18 former world champions for a thrilling accompaniment to the racing action.
While the 12 teams who will take part in this weekend’s eagerly-anticipated opening round of the 2010 season were busy making their final preparations in the paddock, the Bahrain International Circuit has been reverberating with the sound of some of their most illustrious forebears. On-track cavalcades on Saturday 13th March and Sunday 14th March will give fans the chance to see the former champions back in action, and several drivers took the opportunity for a little practice run.
Getting ready for the occasion, three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart took to the track in the Tyrrell 006 in which he claimed the 1973 title, 1978 world champion Mario Andretti took an evening drive down memory lane in his title-winning Lotus 79 and 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell got to grips with the 1.5-litre V12 supercharged Ferrari 125 ‘Thinwall Special’ dating from the 1950 season.
The champions were joined on track by Juan Manuel Fangio II, nephew of the late five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who will be driving a Maserati 250F during the on-track cavalcades on Saturday and Sunday and by the mighty 1300hp Brabham-BMW BT52 in which Nelson Piquet won the 1983 world championship, driven by Robert Dean.
“This 60th anniversary is a significant recognition for Bahrain on a global basis, but promoting the sport in this way is something that Bahrain has taken a lead on,” Sir Jackie Stewart said. “The 60th anniversary celebration of the Formula 1™ world championship is especially impressive in that, as a relative newcomer to the sport, Bahrain has taken the trouble to assemble these drivers who have contributed so much to the history of Grand Prix racing.”
