Franchitti's Jaguar test confirmed.

Dario Franchitti will fulfil a long-held ambition at Silverstone this week, when he tests a Formula One car with Jaguar Racing.

The announcement by Jaguar that the Scot will be running one of its R1s confirms rumours that have being doing the rounds for the last couple of weeks, and heightens speculation that Franchitti may be in the running to replace Johnny Herbert in the team next season.

The former Stewart Formula 3 driver is currently competing in the FedEx CART Championship with Team KOOL Green, where he finished as runner-up to one Juan Pablo Montoya last year. His path through the junior formulae, however, means that Franchitti is well known to Jackie Stewart and members of the Jaguar Racing operation.

''I have retained strong ties with Jackie and Paul Stewart from my days at Paul Stewart Racing,'' the Scot confirmed, ''Jackie and I have talked about tasting a Formula One car for some time, and I'm delighted that Jaguar Racing is able to make it happen."

Franchitti's name was added to the list of possible replacements for Herbert almost as soon as the rumour surrounding a test surfaced late last month. The English driver is in the last year of his current contract with Jaguar, and is unlikely to be retained for 2001.

Herbert is expected to head for America at the end of the season, and is reportedly trying to source a drive in either the CART or Indy Racing League series. Should Franchitti migrate in the opposite direction, Paul Tracy will be looking for a team-mate....