Former F1 racer and TV star Perry McCarthy will race in the third and fourth rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch (24/25 April). The man who was formerly 'the Stig' on BBC2's Top Gear will race the VIP car entered by Porsche Cars GB.

In his first race since competing at Le Mans in 2003, McCarthy will race a Porsche for only the second time in his 20-year career and will race at Brands for the first time 1996. "I think the Carrera Cup looks like great fun and the Porsche brand is very well respected, so I was delighted to be offered the chance to race with Porsche. It should be a bit of fun!"

Having worked his way up through junior single-seater categories, McCarthy finally got his F1 chance with the Andrea Moda team in 1992 only for a series of mechanical disasters to prevent him from starting a Grand Prix. However, he proved his ability with drives for a number of world-standard sportscar teams and manufacturers. He has since chronicled his story in the best-selling book, 'Flat out, flat broke'.

McCarthy's only previous race in a Porsche was in 1990 when he raced a Group C 962 in the World Sportscar Championship race at Mexico City. "That's the only time I've ever driven a Porsche, and I've only ever really raced cars with a lot of downforce," he admits.

Perry also recognises that the Carrera Cup GB field is highly competitive and includes Tim Harvey, a Formula Ford rival from nearly 20 years ago. "I'll be asking Tim for some advice on how to drive them. I don't under-estimate the talent of the people on the grid and I'm being dropped in at the deep end. But I rarely race in England these days, so this is a good chance to race in front of the British fans. Hopefully, people will realise what I'm up against!"

McCarthy will get the chance to test the 911GT3 at Brands on Friday (23 April) before tackling the pair of Carrera Cup races during the BTCC meeting on Sunday.