Sunday, JuIy 5th

Could Nigel Mansell break his recent run of ill-luck and win at Paul Ricard for the second year in succession? Or would Nelson Piquet repeat his runaway victory of 1985? Perhaps World Champion Alain Prost could reclaim the title lead on home ground and set a new record 28th Grand Prix victory?

Those were only some of the questions to enthral a vast crowd at Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix at the beginning of July 1987. Before a race the atmosphere is always electric and this one reached boiling point as the summertime Cote d'Azur temperatures soared. After the street races of Monaco and Detroit, Brazilian Ayrton Senna (Lotus Honda) led the Championship by two points from Prost (Marlboro McLaren), with Piquet (Williams Honda) a further four points in arrears.

This video sets out and brilliantly achieves - the cauldron of white-hot excitement as the top teams fought to enforce superiority. Around the searingly fast curves of the shortened Ricard circuit, speeds were electrifying. On the flat-out Mistral Straight they nudged 200-plus mph! Enjoy the action from a ringside seat - and stay with the series which is proving to be one of the finest ever.