LONDON -- CART is returning to Europe with back-to-back races in May in England and Germany.

CART will race May 5 at the Brands Hatch track in southern England, then go to Germany for a race May 11, CART president Chris Pook said Thursday.

On Friday, Pook announced that the German race in May will be held on the same track where Alex Zanardi lost his legs in a crash in 2001.

The 2002 race in Germany was canceled when the state-of-the-art circuit ran into financial trouble.

The German 500 on May 11 will be held at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz oval in Klettwitz, south of Berlin, six days after the race at Brands Hatch.

Pook said Friday that CART had entered into a "strategic relationship"with the circuit.

"The German market is very important to us," Pook said.

The German 500 will be the only major open-wheel oval-track racing event in Europe in 2003. The EuroSpeedway circuit is a 2-mile oval.

In 2001, the American Memorial 500 was held four days after the Sept. 11 attacks. Zanardi lost both legs in a horrendous crash on the oval before a crowd of 80,000.

Pook said Zanardi will be invited to the May race.

"We owe him a lot of respect and whatever he wants to do, he'll do," Pook said.

England and Germany are familiar turf for the American open-wheel series.

CART ran oval races the last two seasons at the Rockingham track in central England, but canceled the event two months ago because of poor attendance and problematic weather.

Pook emphasized the historic nature of Brands Hatch and its proximity to London. CART's only previous race at the circuit was in 1978, and the last British Formula One Grand Prix was contested there in 1986.

"This race will mark the return of Champ Cars to road racing in Europe and Brands Hatch is a perfect venue for us to showcase our series in Britain on this type of track -- one of the four different styles of tracks we race on in Champ Cars," Pook said in a statement.

"Brands Hatch is a track steeped in history and one that has great significance for us in Champ Car road racing and, of course, British motor sport."

Rick Mears won the 1978 race with an average speed of 95.37 mph. Speeds this time are expected to top 100 mph.

CART needs a successful race at Brands Hatch after problems the last several years getting established in Europe, where it goes head-to-head with Formula One.

Rockingham hosted its first CART race in 2001, coming just four days after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. The initial race drew 38,000 but was plagued by bad weather and wet patches on the newly built track.

Last year's event had a crowd estimated by organizers at 30,000, although most observers placed the figure at 20,000 for the 52,000-seat facility. Brazil's Gil de Ferran won the 2001 race, while Scotsman Dario Franchitti won the race two months ago.