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Why a lost F1 hope is still in demand aged 65

There's a saying among retired folk that life begins at 60, but endurance specialist Alain Ferte has never used the 'R' word. Some 40 years since his crowning glory in F3, he's still a driver in demand and gunning for more 24-hour racing success this weekend

When the farcical track conditions at the 1985 Belgian Grand Prix caused drivers to abandon practice and call for the event's cancellation, the supporting Formula 3000 teams and drivers were left with a conundrum. Should they too abandon ship, or accept Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's offer of a live TV slot the following day and hope that the promised fixes to the circuit would materialise?

In the end, Ecclestone got the outcome he wanted and the F3000 race went ahead, with a history-making front row of two brothers leading the field away on a newly-laid surface that Autosport described as "like the wet on slick tyres".

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