SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA fuses the thrills of football and motorsport - and Rangers are in the thick of it with the world's leading clubs.

Launched in 2008, the racing competition is similar to Formula 1 and currently follows a six-meet schedule in as many European countries.

There are initially two races at each gathering, with a third now held at the conclusion between the top three teams from each contest to decide an overall weekend winner.

The 18 teams competing are all affiliated to football sides, with some of the biggest names in the game among those taking part.

Alongside the Light Blues on the grid are the likes of AC Milan, Liverpool, AS Roma, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid and Flamengo.

Olympique Lyonnais, Sporting Clube de Portugal and Porto - outfits the club's football team has taken on in recent years - are in there too.

The inaugural season was a huge success, with 100,000 fans attending events in England, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

In particular, the final round at Jerez stood out and as 34,000 spectators looked on from the stands, events on the track were being broadcast live in 70 countries.

It is hoped that the competition will expand over time to the extent it takes in races in South America, the Far East and Africa in an extended programme.

For the moment, however, the focus is on this year's campaign and Gers are determined to bring the vacant title back to Scotland.

Beijing Guoan won the inaugural championship but are not involved this season and the Ibrox outfit have high hopes of making a big impact.

With Glasgow-born driver Ryan Dalziel behind the wheel in 2008, Rangers came 13th as they overcame a difficult start to finish strongly.

This year Dalziel has been replaced by highly-rated Australian John Martin, who comes into the competition with plenty of experience despite still being in his mid-20s.

The Queenslander said: "The Superleague car is really fun to drive - it slides around a bit but has so much grip and is so predictable. I feel we can do well this year."

The 2009 schedule was confirmed in the early part of the year, with French venue Magny-Cours hosting the campaign opener on June 27/28.

Further dates were set at Belgian venue Zolder on July 18/19, Donington Park near Derby on August 1/2 and Portuguese track Estoril on September 5/6.

The final two meets were penciled in to take place at Monza in Italy (October 3/4) and at Jamara in Spain (November 7/8).

For more information on Superleague Formula, go online to the official competition website at www.superleagueformula.com.

To find out more about Rangers driver Martin, visit his relaunched website at www.johnmartinracing.com.