The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is expected to deliver another action-packed thriller in the penultimate round of season four at Brands Hatch in Great Britain this weekend.

With just two rounds and four races remaining, South Africa will be aiming to score a rich haul of points to improve its current championship position of joint 11th out of 21 with the United States and get closer to the overall fifth position it achieved in season three.

Switzerland with 88 points enjoys a slim two-point margin over Ireland, with Portugal third on 82 points. South Africa has 19 points. Maximum points on offer at each round are 10 for a win in the Sprint race with a bonus point for fastest lap of the race, and 15 points in the Feature race with a bonus point for fastest lap.

South Africa will have a new driver at the wheel of Vulindlela following Adrian Zaugg signing for a team in the World Series by Renault competition. The next round of the Formula Renault 3.5 series clashes with the Brands Hatch weekend and Zaugg will be competing for his new team at Spa-Francorchamps.

"The WSR opportunity is important for Adrian?s racing future and he has our full support," said Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa. "WSR is an established stepping stone to Formula 1, with drivers like Poland's Robert Kubica and Germany's Sebastian Vettel among recent graduates.

"Adrian's non-availability for Brands Hatch presents a golden opportunity for another young South African racing driver to represent his country in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and further his motor racing career," said Carroll.

Alan van der Merwe returns to take the wheel of Vulindlela at the Kent, England circuit in round seven this weekend ? a new driver for SA the first time since the Brands Hatch round in 2007.

The 29-year-old former British Formula 3 champion (in 2003) and one time Honda F1 test driver last represented his country in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Shanghai (China) in round 10 of season two.

"We're delighted to have secured the services of an experienced driver like Alan at such short notice," added Carroll. "He already has eight A1GP races for South Africa under his belt and has a good racing knowledge of Brands Hatch."

Van Der Merwe won the annual Formula Ford Festival at the English track in 2001 and was crowned British F3 champion at the Kent circuit in 2003.

He has kept his hand in with various different drives in the intervening period, including being involved last year with Aston Martin in an endurance racing GT2 sports car development project and, in 2009, driving the Formula 1 medical car (a modified Mercedes C63 AMG).

He was naturally delighted to receive the call-up while at last week's Bahrain Grand Prix. "It's the best news I've had in a long time. It's a brilliant opportunity and quite unexpected. I'm really looking forward to driving the new Powered by Ferrari A1GP car. I know Brands Hatch well and hope I can help South Africa improve its position in the championship this weekend."

Distinctively-liveried in the six colours of the South African flag, Vulindlela ('clear the way') proudly carries the prison number of Nelson Mandela, 46664, to promote the former president?s foundation and its HIV/Aids initiatives, and also sports the logos of sponsors SABC Sport, Aon and Ericsson.

The Brands Hatch circuit, located less than 32km from the centre of London, is an undulating 4.2km with fast sweeping corners that is driven in a clockwise direction and features nine turns. It hosted the very first A1GP in September 2005.

Saturday's qualifying will be broadcast live on SABC3 from 15h00 to 17h00 and Sunday?s sprint and feature races will be broadcast from 15h00 to 17h30 (the recorded sprint race will be screened from 15h00 while the feature race will be live from 16h00).

Championship points after 12 races:
1 Switzerland 88
2 Ireland 86
3 Portugal 82
4 Netherlands 66
5 France 46
6 Malaysia 43
7 New Zealand 36
8 Australia 30
9 Monaco 27
10 Great Britain 24
11 South Africa and United States 19
13 Brazil 18
14 Italy 15
15 India 11
16 Mexico and Lebanon 8
18 China 7
19 Korea 4
20 Indonesia 3
21 Germany 2.