Leason joins BTCC with Team AFM

The squad will field Nick Leason in a diesel-powered BMW 120D, similar to the one the team ran for Rick Kerry in its debut season in 2007. Kerry, who had originally been slated to drive a second car, has taken on the role of team principal.

Leason told AUTOSPORT: "It's been a really long road to get to this stage, but we're just delighted to know that we'll be at Brands.

"The winter has been so up and down. First we had a major sponsor that would have enabled us to run two cars, and then they pulled out. Then we had another that pulled out less than two weeks ago, and now we're finally in a situation in which we can race."

Leason, who last raced in the BTCC in 2007 for the BTC Lexus squad, tested the BMW at Silverstone two weeks ago and surprised himself with the increase in pace over the past year.

"We've improved the car quite a bit since 2007," he added. "We've extracted more power from the engine, the suspension has had a complete overhaul and now that there's this new rule on sequential gearboxes in rear-wheel drive cars, we've been able to lose 20kg of weight too.

"The major problem we've had over the winter is that all the testing has been in the wet. So I'm praying for rain at Brands because while I know we've got a decent wet set-up, I have no idea how the changes will affect the car in the dry."

AFM's entry means that 20 cars should line up on the grid at Brands this weekend.