Having tried his hand at both NASCAR and sportscars since walking away from the top flight, 1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve is now set to add another new category to his career CV – by competing in the Argentinian Touring Car series.

The former Williams, BAR-Honda, Renault and BMW-Sauber star – who triumphed on eleven occasions over the course of his 164-race career in the uppermost echelon – lost his seat with Bill Davis Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup earlier this year, before finishing second for Peugeot in the iconic, round-the-clock Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

Now he is preparing to compete in the Top Race V6 series around the Oscar Alfredo Galvez circuit in Buenos Aires this coming weekend, with the championship featuring tube-frame stock cars from GM, Mercedes, Peugeot and Volkswagen powered by 3,000cc V6 engines.

“I always had a blast in Buenos Aires when we used to race there,” the 37-year-old French-Canadian told Speed TV of his latest challenge, “so when I got the call I thought 'that's a place I actually want to go to again'.

“It's always good to be in a race car while you're waiting to get the main programme going. The track is very different from the Formula 1 version – it's a long fast track with very few corners – so it should be fun.”