YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN; Despite what it could be-a Geritol economy run-the Grand Prix Masters is good racing and even more fun.(Motorsports)

Byline: CHRIS HARRIS

There were moments during the second Grand Prix Masters race weekend in Qatar when even the novice observer questioned this venue choice. Not for the track-every driver thought it superb-but for the climate. One cockpit thermometer showed 170 degrees, beating the previous record high of 154.

That's hardly an ideal climate for a bunch of geriatric former Formula One drivers to go wheel-to-wheel in 600-hp race cars, eh? But thinking what Scott Poulter, CEO of the Grand Prix Masters series, and its spec car engineering team have achieved, a bright desert sun seems a small hurdle.

The drivers arrived in Qatar on the back of November's inaugural event in South Africa-a show that captured many race fans' imagination. Kyalami hasn't hosted a GP since the early '90s; it was an ideal launchpad for this venture: 70,000 people watched former world champions Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi battle the entire race before "the Nige'' won. To think: Four months earlier the series had no infrastructure, no cars and few signed-up drivers.

The inspiration for this series is simple: Veteran tennis players and golfers draw big crowds. So should top names from F1's vintage catalog. Still, the physical demands of swinging a seven iron don't compare with pulling 3.0 g of lateral acceleration. It's one thing when you're whippet-fit (and draped in pit-lane babes), another after a decade or two of good living and its subsequent supplemental girth. These drivers would need to be fit.

One reason is because the car is an animal. It features a carbon monocoque and a 3.5-liter, normally aspirated Cosworth HB V8. But these facts don't reveal how physical it is to drive. There are no electronic driver aids, just 600 hp and a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox. After driving it for the first time last year, Mansell jumped out and said it felt quicker than his F1 cars of the early '90s. It's a testament to the fitness of these drivers that there was only one casualty that first weekend. Former world champion Alan Jones couldn't handle the g-forces and withdrew from the race. Everyone else, including Fittipaldi at 58, lined up on the grid. The physical trainers deserve a large amount of credit, in that so many competitors regained stamina over the past six months.

Another question surrounding the GP Masters is what happens, heaven forbid, if there is a serious accident. Senior golfers and tennis players don't put themselves in harm's way when they compete. Racing is inherently a dangerous sport. Would the series continue its positive momentum should a legendary driver or former world champion get killed? (Proponents rightly note that these cars incorporate the latest safety technology, something the "vintage'' racers never had. Still....)