Remember the American Fastmasters Series, sometimes affectionately known as the “Crashmasters” Series? The concept was to take a select group of retired professional racecar drivers and put them behind the wheels of identically prepared racecars, in this case Jaguar XJ220s. Well, the idea has made a comeback in Europe with the recent introduction of the Grand Prix Masters Series (not to be confused with historic racing’s “The Masters Series”).
The launch of this new series—which will pit retired Formula One drivers against each other in identically prepared, 525-hp Zytek (Formula Nippon) racecars—was made at the Durban Motor Show in South Africa and included World Champions Emerson Fittipaldi, Alan Jones and ex-Ferrari star Rene Arnoux.
With their first race scheduled for Kyalami at the F1x2 two-seater race November 11–13, the group is planning to run a full calendar of six events in 2006, to include rounds in Italy, Spain, the Middle East, the U.K., South Africa and North America.
Organizers hope to sign up 20 drivers who raced for a minimum of two years in Formula One. Current drivers committed to competing in the series include Alain Prost, Alan Jones, Rene Arnoux, Christian Danner and Emerson Fittipaldi.
According to Alan Jones, “I intend to enjoy myself, racing during the days and reliving the wonderful cities I visited during my Grand Prix career.”
