GOLF GTI JOINS THE SPORTS CARS AT KNOCKHILL

Volkswagen racers Stuart Scott and Steve Wood are all set to make UK motor sport history next weekend (10/11 May) when their Golf GTI joins the British GT Championship, the first front-wheel-drive car ever to do so.

The intrepid Gulf Air-backed duo will be in action at Knockhill, near Dunfermline, doing battle against sports cars such as the Lotus Elise, Marcos Mantis, Morgan Aero 8 and Porsche 911. And they believe their 280bhp 1.8-litre turbo Golf will be more than a match for their exotic rivals.

"I'll be disappointed if we don't finish in the top three in our class," said Cambridge-based Scott. "The Golf has masses of torque and that's just what's needed at a place like Knockhill. "We are going out to enjoy ourselves thoroughly and, of course, to make a little bit of history. We're chuffed to bits that the Golf has been accepted into the British GT Championship and hopefully it will be a credit to the series."

Backed by Gulf Air, ART and Cambridge Business Travel, the canary yellow Golf has been specifically developed for endurance racing. It won its class last month at Brands Hatch on its racing debut in the European Endurance Racing Club's 'Britcar' championship.

Later this season the Golf will be in action in the Volkswagen Racing Cup, handled in some races by Ruislip-based former British Touring Car Championship driver Wood, and in others by Scott.

Steve, 34, is the son of 1970s special saloons racer Alan Wood. He started his track career in karts before progressing to saloon racing. His first victory at the wheel of a Volkswagen came in 2001 in the Volkswagen Racing Cup, and he followed this up with a double win at Brands Hatch last year driving a 1.8 turbo Golf. Steve's BTCC career saw him campaign a Proton Satria GTI in 2001 and a Mitsubishi Carisma GDI last season.

Scott is the 46-year-old managing director of Cambridge Business Travel. He first went racing in 1995 in the original Beetle Cup before switching to the Pirelli Porsche Cup; he was class championship runner-up in 2000. The last two seasons have seen Stuart at the wheel of a 2.8-litre Beetle RSi in the Volkswagen Racing Cup.