Audi confirm Jarvis, Legge for '08
Oliver Jarvis will switch from single-seaters to touring cars this year to race a one-year-old Audi in the DTM
The 24-year-old Briton won the Macau Formula Three Grand Prix last season and is a former British F3 runner-up and Formula Renault UK champion. He also won the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 2005.
"It should be a great move for me," he told autosport.com. "It's a big step up and you've only got to look at the strength of the field to see that it's going to be a fantastic year.
"I weighed up the options I had at the start of this season and the opportunity to be with a manufacturer like Audi is the best career move for me."
Jarvis hopes to follow the likes of fellow Britons Gary Paffett, Jamie Green and Paul di Resta, who moved from single-seaters to tin-top success in the DTM, but he doesn't see the move as the end of his Formula One hopes and he will continue to drive for Team Great Britain in A1GP.
"It certainly doesn't mean turning my back on single-seaters," he said. "It just opens up the possibility for me to try some different things. I have a chance to make a success of DTM now, and Audi are hugely successful in other areas such as Le Mans as well."
He has taken inspiration from di Resta's debut in the series in a two-year-old car last season and is aiming high from the outset.
"I may be in a year-old car but we all saw what Paul did last season. I'll be looking to score some podiums or even wins in the early part of the year until the development moves the new cars on and it gets more difficult.
"But the main thing is just for me to score points consistently, make a good impression, and try to earn one of the new cars for the following season."
Former DTM racer Christian Abt now looks after Audi's young drivers and he believes Jarvis has a bright future ahead of him in the DTM.
"Oliver was very impressive in testing. He reminds me of Premat, who I believe is a future champion."
Fellow Briton Katherine Legge has also been confirmed in Audi's line-up and will drive a 2006-model A4.
The former Champ Car racer said: "The cars are certainly a challenge to drive and very different to the single-seaters I am used to.
"My aim for the season is to learn as much as possible, do the best job that I can, hopefully finish every race and ideally score points."
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