Le Mans takes on family fortunes

Nigel Mansell is no stranger to the fast lane but the former Formula One world champion has admitted he will be feeling like a new boy when he clambers into his Gynetta Zytek at the start of this weekend's 24-hour race at Le Mans.

Twenty-eight years after Mansell won the Formula One drivers' championship, the 56-year-old is competing in his first Le Mans, driving alongside his two sons Leo, 25, and Greg, 22.

"It is nice to write a little bit of history with a father and his two sons in the same team," said Mansell back in February.

"It is extremely exciting and that makes you very humble at the same time. To tell the truth, I am happy, anxious and nervous all at the same time."

The Mansells are not the only ones with a famous name in the world of motor sport. The race also includes a Prost, an Andretti, a Brabham and an Ickx.

Indeed, Nicolas Prost, the 29-year-old son of four-time Formula One champion Alain Prost, has teamed up with Marco Andretti, whose father Michael and grandfather Mario have also taken on the most famous endurance race in the world.

Mario Andretti first competed in 1966 and in 1983 came third with Michael (and Philippe Alliot) also in his team. Five years later, Mario, Michael and his cousin John Andretti finished sixth.

David Brabham is the youngest son of three-time Formula One champion Jack Brabham. He had a largely unsuccessful Formula One career of his own - 30 starts, no podiums - but he has already proved that the pedigree behind the wheel has been passed on to the next generation.

In 1991 he won the Spa 24 hours and followed that a year later with victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He goes into this weekend's race as defending champion, having won it outright with co-drivers Alexander Wurz and Marc Gene last year. He has a different set-up this time around but the 44-year-old Australian remains a contender in his HPD ARX.01.

Then, there is Vanina Ickx, one of the few women competing. If the others come from a line predominantly made up of Formula One drivers, then her line is Le Mans royalty.

Her father Jacky Ickx was certainly no slouch in the land of Formula One - the Belgian won eight Grand Prix in 120 races - but it is in connection with Le Mans that his name will forever be uttered in awe as he went on to win the race a record six times.

His duel with the Porsche 908 of Hans Herrmann and Gérard Larrousse has gone down in legend as the tightest finish ever - Ickx and team-mate Jackie Oliver won it by less than 110 metres.

The 35-year-old Vanina is an experienced racer now, having already tackled Le Mans five times. Her best finish was in 2008 when she came 11th.