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Ex-F1 driver Will Stevens expands 2017 Audi GT programme in Asia

Ex-Formula 1 driver Will Stevens will contest the new Blancpain GT Series Asia alongside his campaign in its sister championship in Europe

The former Caterham and Manor F1 racer will drive for Team WRT Asia, a new offshoot of the Audi team with which he has contested the BGTS Endurance and Sprint Cups since last year.

He will race in both the new Asian series organised by the Stephane Ratel Organisation and the one-make Audi R8 LMS Cup in the region.

Stevens, 25, will share the solo WRT entry in the BGTS Asia with Taiwanese Jeffrey Lee, who will also be his team-mate in the team's two-car assault on the R8 LMS Cup.

"Will was part of our winter testing programme and did a very good job," WRT team boss Vincent Vosse told Autosport.

"This is a great opportunity for him, because he's going to be a big part of the GT scene for years to come."

Clashes with the BGTS in Europe mean Stevens will miss one round of each series in Asia.

Stevens is one of a raft of European drivers who will contest the new six-weekend BGTS Asia, which has attracted a 30-car field for this weekend's series opener at Sepang.

Reigning BGTS champion Maximilian Buhk will drive for the revived GruppeM team, which took GT2 class honours in the 2005 FIA GT Championship.

The German will share one of its two Mercedes-AMG GT3s with former British Touring Car Championship driver Hunter Abbott.

Buhk is unable to race at Sepang courtesy of a clash with the ADAC GT Masters series and his place has been taken by former Ferrari F1 junior Raffaele Marciello, who is racing a Mercedes in BGTS for the French Auto Sport Promotion squad.

The second GruppeM car will be shared by British sportscar stalwart Tim Sugden and Jules Szymkowiak, a race winner in the last year's BGTS Sprint Cup.

McLaren factory driver Rob Bell will pilot a 650S GT3 for the Clearwater squad for which he raced a Ferrari at the Le Mans 24 Hours last year and BMW junior Jesse Krohn will drive an M6 GT3 for the AAI team.

Ho-Pin Tung will compete in the series in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with the FFF team, which has moved over to BGTS Asia after winning last year's GT Asia Series.

A total of 24 GT3 cars will be joined on the Sepang grid by six GT4 entries, all Porsche Cayman GT Clubsport MRs.

Series co-ordinator Benjamin Franassovici expressed himself content with the entry for the inaugural race.

"Six months ago we had nothing, just people trying to stop us, and now we have 30 cars," he told Autosport.

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