Sadly, the revived Procar support race is strictly a one-off exercise. Already confirmed to drive the ten bewinged, 450bhp BMW M1s are six-time Grands Prix winner Jacques Laffite, Marc Surer, Dieter Quester and racer turned TV commentator, Christian Danner. Jochen Neerpash, the man who originally created the car, will drive the famous Andy Warhol ‘art car’ example.

The original Procar championship ran for just two seasons, 1979-80, before the loss of interest from title sponsor Goodyear, together with raging – and distracting - battles between organising bodies FISA and FOCA, hastened its demise. Originally, the top five qualifying GP drivers, or those whose contracts would allow then to race other manufacturers’ cars (so no Renault or Ferrari pilots), drove works prepared M1s against an army of privateers. The series was a smash, the public clamouring to enjoy very close – sometimes too close – racing in the Bavarian supercars, with Niki Lauda winning the first title. Into 1980, the series returned with Nelson Piquet - in only his second full year of F1 - taking the overall spoils.

BMW Motorsport director Mario Thiessen said: “Just a mention of [Procar] today still triggers and enthusiastic reaction. The revival serves as a ‘thank you’ to the fans.”