Ex-IndyCar racer Martin Plowman tests BTCC Vauxhall

The former single-seater man, who has raced most recently in the British GT Championship, sampled the two-litre turbocharged car on Thursday, and he was joined on track by former championship runner-up Sam Tordoff. Tordoff had sampled an AmD Tuning Audi S3 earlier in the week.

Plowman, 30, said: "I'm surprised by how easy I found the transition from a rear-wheel-drive GT car to a front wheel drive touring car: I expected it to be a bigger challenge.

"Essentially the fundamentals of racing and driving fast are the same leaving fewer nuances to master.

"The main difference is the amount of rotation needed into the corner, I had to rotate the touring car more and square the corner off, and then be more patient on the power.

"What I noticed is how the BTCC car can take kerbs: it's like they don't exist."

Plowman is thought to be looking at a switch to the BTCC series in the future, while Tordoff has sampled a couple of cars as he evaluates his 2018 options.

Tordoff, the 2016 BTCC runner-up, said: "I was impressed with the Power Maxed Racing team and the car - it is a hungry up-and-coming team and there is a desire to perform there.

"I know a lot of the team because they are ex-Triple Eight, the team I drove with in the works MG in 2013 and 2014.

"I have nothing signed for next year, and I wanted to get back into the groove with front-wheel drive to see if I still had it.

"The AmD Audi test and the run in the Vauxhall have helped me with that, and I will see where this leads."

Power Maxed Racing, which ran Tom Chilton and Jack Sears Trophy winner Senna Proctor in 2017, has yet to reveal its driver line-up for next season.