Grapevine: Brundle to race in Palmer Audi

Brundle, who last raced professionally when he competed at Le Mans in 2001 for Bentley, was offered the chance to compete at Spa when a vacant seat became available - and he had no hesitation in accepting.

"Racing in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship this weekend is an early 49th birthday present to myself," said Brundle, whose son is a front-runner this season.

"Who would pass up the chance to race at Spa? It's a great circuit and a unique opportunity for me to compete against my son.

"It will be interesting to see how much speed I still have. Having seen some of the determined moves so far this season by the regular young hot shoes, I will have to be on my best form in traffic."

FPA Series Director Jonathan Palmer added: "I think it's fantastic that Martin is having a go.

"Since stopping F1 racing he has kept testing various top level cars, mainly for his ITV F1 work, but I really admire Martin for proving his love of simply driving racing cars and being prepared to pit himself against the young chargers in FPA, all of whom are fighting to make F1.

"No question he's still very quick. It will be interesting to get feedback from someone who is clearly the most experienced and successful driver to ever race an FPA car."