F1 to BTCC: inside story of Mansell's 'unbelievable' Mondeo drive

After a few years out of motor sport in the late ’90s though, the Brit couldn’t resist Ford’s offer of three cameo appearances in the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, where he pulled off one of the most spectacular drives the series had ever seen in a West Surrey Racing-run Mondeo, giving the crowd some vintage Mansell.

25 years later, and it’s still remembered as one of the ’92 champ’s most iconic performances. Speaking in the latest episode of Motor Sport’s ‘Engineering the Greats podcast’, team boss Dick Bennetts remembers the day, and how it changed his perception of the Lotus, Williams and Ferrari star.

“I never used to be a Nigel fan,” he says. “But after running him in ’98 I am a Nigel Mansell fan.”

“[Putting him in the car] was a request from Ford Motor Company for some PR. I believe Nigel got paid handsomely for doing three race meetings and we did about five test days.

However, Bennetts still wasn’t entirely sure it was a wise move putting the old warhorse behind the wheel of the hot-rodded Mondeo.

“When I saw him getting changed in the back of the truck, the scars down his back were unbelievable,” he says.

“I said ‘What are you doing still driving?’ He said ‘I love racing, I love driving.'”

Bennetts also highlights that it was difficult to get Mansell on board with the idea of a prime touring car set-up.

“He was a tricky one. He wasn’t the easiest, but because he was learning, the biggest thing was adapting him to front-wheel drive – it’s quite difficult coming from single-seaters with a lot of aero.

“His interpretation of how a front-wheel drive works, when our engineers had already been front-wheel drive guys… it was delicate at times to try and persuade him to ‘not go down that road, go down this road’.

“At the end of the day he accepted our recommendations, persevered and on occasions, showed some good promise.”

Mansell had driven British touring cars before – fresh from an impressive string of success in IndyCar in ’93 – but had ended up in hospital after colliding with Tiff Needell in the TOCA shoot-out at Donington Park. Five years later, he returned to the very same circuit, where his return to BTCC racing got off to a very similar start – typical Mansell drama.

“He had a couple of accidents [beforehand], but the one at Donington when he had the accident in Race 1 [in 1998], he didn’t think the car was repairable for Race 2,” says Bennetts But we had some really good guys, great fabricators and we got the car rebuilt.”

The crash meant Mansell was forced to start last on the grid for Sunday’s feature-length race, with a field of great names ahead of him: John Cleland and Derek Warwick on the front row, followed by Anthony Reid and David Leslie of Nissan, Yvan Muller of Audi, Alain Menu and Jason Plato in the Williams-run Renault Lagunas and even fellow ex-F1 racer Gianni Morbidelli. It was a truly star-studded field, but a 43-year Mansell quickly found himself at the sharp end.

“I’ll never forget that race,” says Bennetts. “In the pouring rain he came through to lead it – unbelievable up against all these famous names.”

Completing the first lap in last place, Mansell scythed his way through the field with one breathless move after the next in truly treacherous conditions. A well-timed safety car put him fourth as the race reached the halfway point, and then he brilliantly aced a restart, with the former F1 champ going wheel-to-wheel – and sometimes door-to-door – with some of touring car’s best.

Mansell’s derring-do soon vaulted him into the lead but, unfortunately, a fairytale ending wasn’t to be.

“Nigel got so excited that he overdrove a bit and I think we ended up finishing fourth or fifth,” says Bennetts. “But that still goes down as one of the best ever super touring races or even touring car races.”

There has perhaps been no equivalent to Mansell’s performance in the BTCC’s modern era since, making the drive stand out even more.

“He had a few rubs with other drivers – he definitely upset a few,” added Bennetts. “But at the end of the day it was a marketing exercise for Ford and they reckoned the money they spent [on Mansell’s contract] was well worth it from the TV coverage from that wet race at Donington alone!

“So yes, I’m a Nigel fan now.”