In April 1989 an amazing event took place, watched by the whole world. The two best Formula One drivers, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, both driving for the McLaren team, had a major falling-out. Prost felt Senna had gone back on an agreement made prior to the race regarding overtaking on the first lap of the San Marino Grand Prix, and was disgusted with the Brazilian.

The following week, with the world's media following the soap opera, Ron Dennis, the MD of McLaren International, decided enough was enough, and that his two megastar drivers were going to make up. Somewhere quiet would be best; somewhere far-flung and unexpected. Step forward Pembrey.

Although a regular test venue for F1 cars at the time, it certainly didn't rank as a top-line venue such as Silverstone. Joaquin (Jo) Ramirez was McLaren team manager at the time. Writing in his autobiography Memoirs Of A Racing Man (Haynes, 2005), Ramirez says, "...Ron Dennis summoned both drivers to attend [Pembrey], as he was determined to re-restablish law and order.

"Ayrton was refusing to apologise... He really only apologised because of the pressure under which Ron put him and for the good of the team, but he wasn't happy about it. When Ron returned from Pembrey he told us that all was well, that peace had been made and there'd be no further mention of the incident."

Of course, the relationship between Senna and Prost continued to sour and the Pembrey meeting came to nothing in the end. But Ramirez's memories of the episode are clear. We spoke to him about why Pembrey was specifically chosen. "It was necessary for Ron to go in order to restore the peace; there's no way that Ron Dennis would have gone all the way there for a simple test! At best, I suppose it was suitable for testing prior to twisty and short circuits like Monaco, but in that instance after the San Marino Grand Prix we were there to check tyres, components and set-ups."

Click here for part two of the history of testing at Pembrey.