Swift return at Long Beach.

The much-maligned Swift chassis returns to CART action this weekend, with its team keen to prove the sceptics wrong.

The only US constructor in the Champcar series, Swift broke off its relationship with the Forsythe Championship team last week after alleged breaches of contract prevented it from running so far in 2000. The company went as far as arranging a back-to-back test between a Forsythe car and one of its own, to prove to team boss Gerry Forsythe that it was a competitive proposition. When Forsythe rejected the chance to race at Nazareth last weekend, Swift called time on the contract and began planning for its own entry at Long Beach.

Under the Swift Engineering banner, the company has entered Brazilian Tarso Marques for the California street event with support from Panasonic. No engine has yet been named to power the chassis, but Swift's VP Alex Cross is understood to have met with Honda Performance Development general manager Robert Clarke at Nazareth. The two parties were due to have been teamed together at Forsythe.

Ironically, Forsythe driver Bryan Herta will also be making his seasonal debut at Long Beach, filling in for the injured Shinji Nakano at Walker Racing. The American spent the day on Tuesday testing with Walker, getting the feel for the car and the team.

''It's not that the cars are that different,'' Herta explained. ''But it's things like the seat position, and the position of the gear shift. They all become second nature after a while, but you have to adjust to them at first.''

Memo Gidley will also be a new face on the 2000 season block this weekend, standing in for another Forsythe regular, Patrick Carpentier, who broke a wrist in an accident at home on Monday and will be out for the next two races.

Finally, Gualter Salles' Dale Coyne Racing Lola will also sport Panasonic sponsorship this weekend, after the team signed a two-race deal with Hiro Matsushita.