Nigel Mansell tests Renault 3.5 car

The 1992 world champion is set to carry out a demonstration run on Sunday, and got down to a 1m40s, six seconds off the fastest time of the practice day, as he embarked on some exploratory laps.

"It was very good of Greg to let me borrow his car before qualifying," said Nigel Mansell. "We have a few witnesses that the car is in one piece and I didn't stall it or spin it.

"I won my world championship with Renault power so it always good to feel their engines behind you again.

"My memories whenever I go down Hangar Straight are of the days in qualifying with 1000bhp, so you always want a bit more power. I gave myself a bit of a fright today when I went to hit the brakes for Becketts, I moved my right foot across and ended up hitting the accelerator. I managed to slow the car down in time as I wasn't going flat-out, after that the left-foot braking took a bit of getting used to.

"I just want to say thank you to Renault for giving me the time to get used to the car before I drive it on Sunday."

Mansell added that a future sportscar outing was also in the pipeline, and that Greg could be set for a prototype drive as well, although he remain tight-lipped about the team involved.

"I had thought that when I got older I wouldn't be bothered about driving any more, but it's terrible," said Nigel Mansell.

"I should be out testing an LMP1 car within a month, and Greg could compete in an LMP1 car in Europe before the end of the season."

Leo Mansell, Greg's older brother, switched to sportscars this season to join Team Modena's Ferrari GT2 programme in the Le Mans Series.