Mallock to run Burt in ASCAR

RML, which claimed BTCC manufacturer championships with Vauxhall and Nissan in the 1990s, will have two cars in the series run solely on oval tracks. Burt's team-mate has yet to be confirmed.

Team boss Ray Mallock said: "It's always good to be in at or near the start of something. ASCAR is attracting the kind of interest that is difficult to ignore. You only have to look at the USA to see how this sort of racing can develop. OK, so the Americans have 50 years on ASCAR, but the model is there. I don't want to miss out - I want to be in now, not knocking on the door next year or the year after."

Last year RML won the European Le Mans Series GTS crown with a Saleen S7R. The single-spec ASCARs will provide less of a technical challenge, although Mallock claims his team will still be able to make a difference.

"Every formula is technical in its own way," he said. "When the series is as close as ASCAR every small advantage is crucial. This gives the opportunity for the team to shine. I believe that the 'RML difference' is probably more important in this series than in any other we have contested."

The organisers claim that 28 cars are either ready to race or in the process of being purchased. All 18 rounds take place on the British Rockingham oval or the German Eurospeedway Lausitz, with races planned for the Champ Car support bills at both tracks.

The series has already attracted national TV coverage from Channel 4 and reigning BTCC champion Jason Plato.

"ASCAR is an exciting new formula with the potential to recapture the interest of the public in the same way that the Super Tourers did in the mid-'90s," said Mallock.