In slipsteam of the greats

TOMORROW'S Monaco Grand Prix will be the 55th staging of an event which weaves history and style together to produce the best known event in world motor sport.

Over 400 million fans will watch the event on television and an least 200,000 spectators will crowd into the hilltops and grand stands around the streets of the Principality.

While some drivers dismiss the track as not being a serious racing circuit, many of the greats have dominated the two mile circuit. Stirling Moss was a winner three times while Graham Hill won five times during the 1960s.

Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda were both three time winners while Alain Prost received the trophy four times from Prince Rainier. But the king of the streets of Monte Carlo was Ayrton Senna who, but for a crash while miles out in front in 1988, would have won seven times in a row.

Johnny Herbert has spent two days revelling in having set fastest time in his Sauber Petronas in Thursday's practice sessions. Herbert and his quiet Swiss team were still smiling over the fact they had beaten Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari with the same engine as theirs, run under the Petronas badge.

Championship leader Jacques Villeneuve, much more at ease than in his first Monaco race last year, had a triple mission, to beat both Herbert and Schumacher, and ensure he kept ahead of his Williams team mate and rival HeinzHarald Frentzen.

Frentzen was fastest early on Thursday, but ended seventh overall after smacking the guard rails powering on to the starting straight. He was unfazed, however, and the damage was not a problem for his Williams team to repair.

There is a further challenge for the Williams' drivers. The team surprisingly has not won here since 1983, and owner Frank Williams wants that changed.

Michael Schumacher and team mate Eddie Irvine have a similar task. Though annually urged on by tens of thousands of fans from nearby Italy, Ferrari's last win in the Principality dates back to 1981, when the driver was Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques' late father.

Irvine, who has yet to finish in Monaco, needs to improve from 12th on Thursday to be in with a chance. He admitted making a mistake on what would have been his quickest lap but said: "It is fun to drive here. On Saturday, I can aim for a place in the top six."