Some of you will remember with great fondness one of the most astonishing touring car racers of all time — the BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile" from the 1970s which was pedalled to great successes worldwide by legends such as Chris Amon, Ronnie Peterson, Hans Stuck, and Brian Redman.

FAMILIARITY didn’t breed contempt for the new M-Class Mercedes. I had the car for longer than a test, and had that not been the case my opinion of the car might have been different.

Max Mosley is to step down as president of motorsport’s world governing body the FIA, it was revealed today.