Ferrier replaces Howell at Motorbase

Howell split with the team earlier this week after a difficult start to the season, and Ferrier is hoping to be able to contest the rest of the campaign with the outfit.

The 25-year-old raced with the team towards the end of last season, although he missed out on a full-time drive for 2007 due to budget.

Team boss David Bartrum said: "Tom was always one of our key choices for this season, but as ever, it was down to budget.

"He did a really good job for us at Silverstone last October, and I'm pleased to welcome him back into the team."

Howell has explained the reasons for his split with the team, which was partly down to the number of accidents that they had been involved in during the early rounds of the season.

"It's a real shame as Motorbase is a good team with a great bunch of guys who were great to work with," he said.

"We needed to develop the car through testing to get further towards the front and out of the midfield melee, but we came back from each round with so much damage that then took all the time between races to repair.

"We'd then go out and experience the same problem all over again. It was a vicious circle."