Former three-time World Champion and current Jaguar boss Niki Lauda will return to the wheel of a Formula One car when he tests at the Valencia circuit next month. But the Austrian will be joined by Ford's bosses Wolfgang Reitzle and Richard Parry-Jones, who will also get a chance to drive a modern F1 car. Karl Ludvigsen talks about other amateurs driving racing cars and wishes both of them the best of luck

I don't know how they covered the recent Jaguar R3 launch down your way, but in this neck of the woods the BBC had only one story: the fact that Niki Lauda would drive the car. They gave little or no time to its improved aerodynamics, Jaguar's wind tunnel in Bicester, their aging-playboy Number One driver, Cosworth's engine changes, their new German managing director or - least of all - Pedro de la Rosa (although the lady of my house did glimpse him and thought he might be rather dishy).

No, for the BBC the big news was that Niki would tug on his new custom-tailored Jaguar-green driving suit and take a few laps in an R2 at Barcelona to get the feel of the beast. I couldn't and wouldn't deny him the pleasure. I agree that with his skill at the wheel it would make sense for him to get a better idea of what his drivers are talking about. There's a tenuous resemblance to the way that Alain Prost acted as a consultant to McLaren in 1995-96 by driving and testing its cars, although Prost was then much nearer his last racing season of 1993.

What I am worried about, though, is Jaguar's plan to put Wolfgang Reitzle and Richard Parry-Jones in the car as well. Wolfgang, of course, can pretty much drive whatever he wants, being the boss of Ford's Premier Automotive Group which runs Jaguar as well as Volvo, Aston Martin, Land Rover and some American brands. And Richard is respected as an excellent development driver. He has been leading Ford's car design and development and is now based in the UK to work more closely with Reitzle and his charges. But should either of them be driving a Formula One Jaguar?

I have a little bit of experience in this area. In 1980 and 1981 my boss Bob Lutz and I drove Ford Turbo-Capris at Hockenheim in the informal events staged for motor-industry executives and journalists. These Zakspeed-built racers were tube-framed specials with 500-plus-horsepower 16-valve four-cylinder powerplants, potent enough that Zakspeed later made them into Formula One engines. They were terrific cars, with rudimentary but effective underbody downforce.

We had a preliminary test on the circuit around the pits at the old Nurburgring. Erich Zakowski was pleased that I put my foot right down and made his Capri move. Car builders like to see their racers driven hard, and Erich was no exception. I had a good run at Hockenheim in 1980 and went off to a fast start in 1981 but didn't notice until too late that the boost had been set too high. The engine expired and Erich sent a big bill for its repair. I often thought that it was so big I should have had the engine mounted to stand in the corner of my office!

Neither Bob nor I otherwise damaged these fast Capris in the Hockenheim races, but a Porsche executive was less lucky. He put his car into a wall, fortunately with only minor injury to his person. The same was true of the chief executive of Porsche in America, who was given a 962 to play with last summer. It got away from him at Lime Rock with considerable damage to the car and to his ego.

I never did drive our 1982 racer at Ford, the controversial C100. We had too few of them for me to take a chance on driving one, and by that time Bob Lutz had gone to the States so we couldn't have our usual battle at Hockenheim. I rather regret missing a chance to drive it now, especially as Klaus Ludwig has branded the C100 the worst car he ever raced. That would have been worth experiencing!

So there is a precedent for putting Ford executives into fast racing cars. From time to time, as well, journalists have been allowed to drive Formula One cars, but I can't recall it happening in the last decade. The cars have simply become too complex - not to mention valuable - to be turned loose in the hands of anyone other than a complete professional. Accordingly I wish Messrs. Reitzle and Parry-Jones the best for a safe and pleasant drive at Valencia!