CART confirms Brands Hatch date.

Following through on a promise to return Champcar racing to Europe in 2003, CART has confirmed that it will race at the fabled Brands Hatch circuit.

The race will be held at Brands Hatch on 5 May, a Bank Holiday in England, bringing the top tier of North American open-wheel racing back to the historic track for the first time since 1978.

The Champcars will race on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, the 1.2-mile track that was named after the USAC Championship Car Series - the forerunner of the current Champcar World Series - event hosted by Brands Hatch in 1978. Inaugural CART champion Rick Mears, took victory in the '78 race with an average speed of 95.37mph driving a Penske PC6 Cosworth. Today's generation of 750hp Champcars are expected to lap the track at an average speed exceeding 100mph.

The announcement marks the third consecutive season that CART will compete in England, moving to the road course at Brands Hatch after two seasons of oval-track racing at Rockingham Motor Speedway.

"This race will mark the return of Champcars to road racing in Europe, and Brands Hatch is the perfect venue for us to showcase our series in Britain on this type of track - one of the four different styles of track that we race on in Champ Cars," said CART president and CEO Chris Pook, speaking at the announcement during the Autosport International exhibition in Birmingham.

"Brands Hatch is a track steeped in history and one that has great significance for US Champcar road racing and, of course, British motorsport. With this great US and British double bill, I'm sure the race is going to draw a great crowd and provide the spectacular racing for which we are famous.

"CART is committed to expanding into Europe, and Brands Hatch is a strategic move forward in our development plans. The Indy circuit will suit the Champcars and the venue, with its proximity to London, will draw from the dedicated motor sport fans, not only from the UK, but from other European countries too."

The British race promises to be the most exciting race weekend of the British motorsport calendar, combining the turbocharged fury of the Champcars with the wheel-to-wheel battles of the British Touring Car Championship. The racing programme, which headlines with the Champcars, is supported by the second round of the BTCC, which is the premier British saloon and production car race series.

"Brands Hatch is looking forward to hosting the CART event and is confident that its facilities and infrastructure, together with the unique atmosphere of Brands Hatch, will provide a fantastic setting for this important new addition to the motorsports calendar," said Andrew Waller, group marketing director of Octagon Motorsports UK.

"With two such prestigious series coming together for the bank holiday weekend, we anticipate a strong turnout and some stunning single-seater, production and saloon car racing."

The Brands Hatch race will be the fourth round of the 19-race 2003 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford.