Narain Karthikeyan switches to Super Nova to stay in Auto GP

Following a disappointing meeting at the Hungaroring last month, Karthikeyan split from Austrian team Zele Racing and told AUTOSPORT he was evaluating a move into LMP2 sportscar racing.

But an opportunity to race for in-form Auto GP team Super Nova has proved irresistible.

Karthikeyan will fill the seat vacated by GP3 graduate Antonio Spavone, who ran into budget difficulties prior to the Hungaroring round.

"It looks like I am going to race for Super Nova, I have done a seat fitting on Thursday," Karthikeyan told AUTOSPORT.

"Regarding LMP2, I am not sure what is happening. First of all, I was asked to bring a what I felt was quite lot of money and also it is a competitive field of 29 cars, so if I do it I would really want to make sure I was in a competitive situation."

Karthikeyan will rekindle a relationship with Super Nova that stretches back to his time as the lead driver for the Super Nova-run Indian entry in A1GP.

He also enjoys a link to team boss David Sears dating back to the beginning of his racing career in the Formula Asia championship, which used Argo cars built in the current Super Nova factory.

"I have known the team for a long time and they have been one of the most successful teams in single-seaters over the years, so I am confident that we can hit the ground running this weekend," said Karthikeyan.

David Sears added: "It's a pleasure to welcome Narain back into the Super Nova family. Having watched him race from a very early age we know exactly what he is capable of and I am sure that together we can enjoy much success."

Super Nova will run a third car for the first time this season. Francesco Dracone, who stood in for Spavone in Hungary, will continue with the team, alongside Hungaroring victor Vittorio Ghirelli.