Alesi fastest after opening session

JACQUE VILLENEUVE, feted like royalty as he returns to his father's home town in second place in the World drivers' championship, is taking time to adjust to the adulation: "It's like being a mouse in a cage," he said yesterday. "I love Montreal, but this weekend everywhere I go there are posters of me, so it's not like coming back to the town I know" said, the 25 year old.

After the first two free practice sessions yesterday Villeneuve's lap times were not benefiting from the superstar treatment ending the day eighth fastest over a second adrift of fastest man of the day, Jean Alesi.

Alesi, remembering his emotional first and only Grand Prix win here last year, led a Benetton one two with Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Rubens Barrichello, Eddie Irvine and Martin Brundle all close behind.

With many teams now using Friday to learn about the cars performance in race trim, the first day practice times mean a lot less than last year. This was never more clearly illustrated than at the last race in Barcelona when Saturday times were four seconds faster than Friday's with the same track conditions.

At Ferrari, Schumacher had a major change to his car using the high nose front for the first time. Irvine had tested the new part earlier in the week and was full of enthusiasm for it: "It's better, a lot better," he said before he stepped aboard his car for the afternoon practice. "I ran it at Mugello and it was four 10ths (of a second) quicker - and we've an even bigger step forward coining soon," said Irvine.

Irvine completed just 18 of the 30 lap quota he is allowed: "There was a bit of a fuel leak this morning so I only got five laps in." Unlike Schumacher, Irvine was not given the new high nose but Ferrari have confirmed that he will get it for this afternoon's official qualifying session.

Montreal has been a happy hunting ground for Eddie Jordan in the past, and he could certainly do with more of the same tomorrow. The team's first ever points were the memorable fourth and fifth places of Andrea De Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot in 1991, while last year the team had their best ever result with Barrichello and Irvine both getting on the podium.

Villeneuve is among those who thinks they could do well: "The circuit has some slow speed corners and the Peugeot engines seem to have very good torque to get the cars out of those corners. This was confirmed by Jordan designer Gary Anderson: "Basically we have dropped the engine's revs for reliability and improved the torque and driveability. I would say we now have the lowest revving V10 on the grid," he said.

Despite this, Martin Brundle was sidelined with a blown engine after just nine laps in the morning and the mess of oil and parts when the floor was removed would indicate a major mechanical failure in the V10.

Brundle starts his 150th Grand Prix this weekend and was a competitive seventh fastest yesterday afternoon after which he reflected on his time in Formula One: "There's been an awful lot of change since I started in 1984," he said. "The pressure is much greater - too great a lot of the time. Every team has to win but only one will. On the plus side drivers are a lot more friendly towards each other now. There was a lot of bad feeling in the 80s."

Brundle is the oldest driver in the field at 37 and needs a result tomorrow, but his car bounces over the bumpy parts of the circuit, losing downforce and braking effect. It's a continuing problem.

Among the sponsors this weekend is the local Casino which began in controversy three years ago. There were a number of large Irish flags around the circuit, including one at the island chicane bearing allegiance to no less than "The Railway Inn, Midleton"!

The race is sold out with all 60,000 seats now allocated - the vast majority hoping Villeneuve will win his first Canadian Grand Prix.

. Motor racing legends Mario Andretti and Nelson Piquet will look to cap their magnificent careers this weekend as they compete for the only major title to elude them.

The two former Formula One world champions received loud applause from a huge crowd yesterday as they drove through Le Mans, in old cars and to the sound of jazz, in the traditional drivers parade ahead of the world's greatest endurance race.

They will each start today's race with a good chance of winning it. Brazilian Piquet wills drive a McLaren, similar to last year's winning car, while the American veteran will pilot the Courage in which he finished second last year.

Andretti, world champion for Lotus in 1978, will bid to equal Graham Hill's achievement of, winning Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One title.

"I've always loved Le Mans," he said. "I came here for the first time in 1966 but then I got involved in Formula One and IndyCar and I couldn't concentrate on Le Mans as much as I would have wanted to."

Piquet's story is different as he has never competed before and has been struggling to find a decent car since his horrific crash at the Indianapolis speedway four years ago, in which he suffered severe foot injuries.

"Since my injury, it's my first opportunity with a good car," said the 43 year old from Rio, who won three F1 titles for Brabham and Williams in 1981, 1983 and 1987.