JANUARY 20, 1997

Brundle joins Arrows

MARTIN BRUNDLE - out of work in F1 since being dropped by Jordan - has been appointed a director of TomÊWalkinshaw's Arrows Grand Prix International and will be the lead driver of TWR's Nissan GT sportscar project.

The 37-year-old Englishman, who competed in 158 Grands Prix during his 12 year career, has links with Walkinshaw dating back to 1979 when he took part in the TWR-organized BMW County Challenge. He raced Audi touring cars for Tom in 1980 and was a regular member of Tom's Jaguar touring car teams in the early 1980s. He led Jaguar's return to sportscar racing in 1985 and in 1988 won the World Sportscar title for TWR Jaguar. Two years later he also won the Le Mans 24 Hours for the team.

Martin's aim with the Nissan project is to win at Le Mans once again. The TWR chassis - to be called the R390 - is due to run in March. It has been designed by Tony Southgate and will be powered by a turbocharged 3.5-liter V8 engine, which is based on the engine Nissan has been using at Le Mans in recent years.

Brundle is also believed to be discussing a possible F1 commentary deal with Britain's ITV.