Ex-F1 driver and Le Mans winner Alex Wurz to contest World RX round

Wurz will make his maiden rallycross appearance in a Ford Fiesta Supercar with the Max Pucher-owned MJP Racing Team Austria outfit.

He first tested with the squad at former European Rallycross circuit Greinbach in Austria in late 2016.

"That car, with that power, is really impressive, very cool and I understand why I could get very hooked on this sport and this driving," Wurz told Autosport after his first test.

The former Benetton and Williams F1 driver has roots in rallycross, with his father Franz a three-time European champion, claiming titles in 1974, '76 and '82.

Wurz junior recently restored his father's title-winning Lancia Stratos, which he ran at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2016.

Following his first MJP test, Wurz had said it was "even more exciting" for him than other drivers "because I grew up on the rallycross tracks with my dad."

He added: "It was sensational, it's like going back to where I grew up."

Last season MJP fielded a pair of Fiesta Supercars in World RX full-time for double DTM champion Timo Scheider and Swede Kevin Eriksson. Scheider scored a maiden podium in the Spanish season-opener.

The team will return to World RX for the first time in 2018 at the British round of the series next week, fielding cars for '13 British Touring Car champion Andrew Jordan and World RX event-winner Toomas Heikkinen.

SPEEDMACHINE - The British round of the WRX comes to Silverstone on May 25-27. To book your tickets visit www.speedmachine.com. For a limited time only get discounts on adult tickets using the codes SMW10 for weekends, SSMSAT10 for Saturday and SMSUN for Sunday