Slight lands touring car deal

Slight will swap two wheels for four

Former World Superbike star Aaron Slight will compete in this year's British Touring Car Championship after an 11th hour turnaround.

Slight looked likely to be at the wheel of a 500bhp V8 Ford in the Ascar oval racing series.

But the New Zealander has secured a last-minute deal with privateer team Barwell Motorsport to pilot their second Vauxhall Astra.

He will partner the series' youngest driver, Tom Chilton, in the two-car line-up.

'Competitive'

Slight, who learned of the deal via text message, is delighted about his new challenge.

"I was excited by the opportunity to be able to be in a Vauxhall Astra, which is the car to beat in the series," Slight said.

"I was looking at other motorsport programmes such as Ascar, assuming that all competitive seats in the BTCC had gone."

Slight has BTCC experience. He raced an incomplete programme for Peugeot last year, leading briefly in a race at Donington Park before his car retired.

Vauxhall dominated the BTCC last year, with Briton Jason Plato and Frenchman Yvan Muller fighting a private battle for the title, in which Plato came out on top.