By the time you read this article Stirling and his co-driver Ian Nuthall will have finished qualifying for the Le Mans Legends race in his Porsche RS 61 which has been lovingly restored following, the accident last year at the Monterey Classic, by Maxted-Page & Prill Ltd. The race itself takes place on the morning of Saturday, 10th June, just two days hence, at the famous Le Mans circuit in La Sarthe. Back at the end of May the RS 61 had enjoyed a successful shakedown with Stirling at the wheel during the BRDC track day at Silverstone.

Before Stirling and Ian drove the RS 61 at Silverstone on a blustery overcast morning, Andy Prill took the car out for the initial installation laps. He was back in the pits within one lap to have the fuel filler cap sealed with duck tape and then he was off again, the car sounding wonderful as it headed back out onto the new Grand Prix track layout. Before long it was Stirling's turn to try his RS 61 for the first time since August of last year, to sound of cameras clicking he went out on track, with a large crowd on the pit wall watching him build speed lap by lap.

He comes into the pits with a large smile on his face, the only change required is not to the RS 61, but to his footwear, to allow him to heal and toe better. Once more he exits the old pits and heads back out on track, by the time he comes back in he reports that all is well with the car and a job well done by Andy Prill and his team.

The next outing for the car, and Stirling, that afternoon sees Jake Humphrey, the BBC F1 anchor man in the passenger seat, to film a piece for the BBC's superb coverage of Formula 1. You will have to wait until the Saturday of the British Grand Prix and the build up to qualifying to see the final results and why this piece was filmed. Jake was thrilled to be the first person to receive a passenger ride from his hero in the RS 61, videoing the in lap on his mobile phone, which he later tweeted to his huge following on twitter.

Next stop Le Mans, which brings us back full circle, to the begining of the penultimate feature on the RS 61 to Le Mans. If you are over at Le Mans, then look out for the RS 61 with Stirling at the wheel on Saturday morning, when he races the Porsche with his co-driver Ian Nuthall. Stirling will continue to race as long as he feels he is not getting in the way of other competitors, lets hope then that a class win is on the cards on Saturday and he continues to race in that famous Patey helmet for just a little while longer.