Mansell, Warwick strike early blow

Both men bolted on a new set of rubber towards the end to record the Jersey residents 1-2, with Nigel's 1:35.086 pipping Warwick by just under 0.3s. But both men took their hats off to the 58-year-old Emerson Fittipaldi, who only firmed up his decision to race yesterday and lapped third quickest in 1:35.728.

"I think everyone in Brazil got pretty excited when I decided to race," said Fittipaldi. "Except my mother and my wife. My kids just said, 'look Daddy, do whatever you want but remember that you are a bit more fragile these days!"

It didn't look that way even if, to a man, all the veterans acknowledged that a 45-minute race on Sunday might be a different story.

Warwick though, was bullish: "I thought after I tested at Silverstone that we might struggle a bit because these are proper racing cars and there is a lot of horsepower and grip. But we're at altitude here in Kyalami and so there is a bit less power and there's not quite so much grip either."

Neither Warwick nor his former Renault and Arrows F1 teammate Eddie Cheever had lost their keen sense of humour.

"I think we've all got to thank Scott Poulter and race sponsor Altech for this," Warwick said. "When Scott came to me and said he was going to get together a bunch of famous drivers, put them in F1-type cars and take them to Kyalami, I thought he was smoking something!

"I think it was very brave of Altech to effectively sponsor us all because sponsorship is a very different market for us now. It's people like BUPA and Viagra, but I think Stirling's got that!"

Cheever added: "I feel like I'm in a time warp. Last time I came to South Africa Nigel was fastest and I was pissed off! But it's great. It's fast, it's risky and it's got everything you need in a race car."

At the bottom of the timesheet, eight seconds from Mansell's pace, 1980 World Champion Alan Jones did just six laps in the second session and is already feeling the effects in his neck.

Christian Danner had already made some light-hearted remarks about Jones needing to do a bit more exercise and, hearing about them, the Aussie retorted: "I gather he reckons I need to spend a bit more time in the gym. Well I've got news for him - I'm in the Jim (Beam) every day!"

Given the characters involved, the whole event, while being approached in great spirit, will inevitably turn competitive.

"I'm humbled to be sat here among such great drivers," Warwick said at the post-practice press conference, before turning to Mansell and adding: "Not you!"

But Mansell was serious when he summed up the first day of GP Masters thus: "What's been accomplished here today is monumental.

"These cars are thoroughbreds, not fun machines, and to have 15 of them, all so well prepared is outstanding. We have races confirmed for next year and it is a great concept that has given us a part-time job but one that will not take over our lives.

"It was a huge thrill today and even if the car breaks down now, it doesn't matter. The reaction of all of us tells you all you need to know and is a huge vote of confidence for the series."