Carroll on standby

Wilson, 27, broke the scaphoid bone in his right wrist in a practice crash at the Australian street circuit 12 days ago, forcing him to miss the race.

The three-time race-winner is recovering well though, and hopes to be passed fit to race at the circuit where he took one of his two victories last season.

"Obviously, I am very eager to get back in the car," said Wilson. "I missed not being able to race in Australia, but we'll just have to wait and see how I feel.

"I'm going to be pushing it as much as I can but also respecting the seriousness of the injury. I don't want this to drag into next season."

Wilson will have a late fitness test on Thursday before the race. Should medical staff tell him not to drive, his place will be taken by fellow Brit Carroll.

Carroll is coming off the back of a disappointing season in which he failed to match his 2005 race-winning form in the GP2 Series and was dropped from the Honda F1 junior driver programme.

Despite this, he impressed RuSPORT in a test at Sebring in Florida, and is excited at the possibility of an imminent race debut.

Carroll said: "Of course it would be good for Justin to drive, get more points and possibly overtake 2nd place in the points race, but I look forward to being there in case he can't.

"If I do get the chance to drive, I'll give it my best shot and hope to get a good result. It will be a great opportunity to drive the car but if it doesn't happen, it is at least a good chance to work with a top ChampCar team like RuSPORT."