Montagny to keep on racing with Aguri

Although the team had been rumoured to be chasing a Japanese replacement, Aguri Suzuki autosport.com revealed two weeks ago that the outfit were happy to stick with Montagny.

Montagny, who replaced struggling Japanese rookie Yuji Ide at the Nurburgring two races ago, told Reuters that he had been confirmed for next month's British and Canadian Grands Prix as well as the U.S. race at Indianapolis in July.

In between, the 28-year-old will also race in the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar endurance classic on June 18 with French world rally champion Sebastien Loeb as a Pescarolo teammate.

A former Renault test driver and the only Frenchman on the starting grid, Montagny has yet to finish a Grand Prix after retiring at the Nurburgring and at the Spanish race in Barcelona.

The Frenchman's long-term future at the team remains doubtful, with newcomers Super Aguri launched as an all-Japanese outfit and Takuma Sato as their lead driver.

The Honda-powered team, run by former Grand Prix racer Aguri Suzuki, are still searching for a Japanese replacement for Ide, whose superlicence was taken away by the governing body after a troubled debut.

Sato was happy to extend his racing partnership with Montagny.

"It's good news," he told French daily L'Equipe. "Franck has a lot of experience and is very competitive, which allows us to exchange information and to develop the car."

Super Aguri are still using a developed version of a four-year-old Arrows while they wait for their new car to be finished, with a debut pencilled in for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in July.