Olivier takes final Opel seat

The 27-year-old will drive alongside Alain Menu for Eutoteam, having raced a year-old car for Team Phoenix in 2001.

"Yves Oliver demonstrated his skills on the circuit as well as at the trackside last year, I am convinced that he will be an excellent complement to our very strong driving squad," said Opel motorsport boss Volker Strycek. "A Belgian and a Swiss living in England in an Italian team with a German car - this underscores the increasingly international nature of the DTM. And, with a race going to Zolder this year, the DTM will see its debut in Yves' native country as well."

Since its shakedown in Vallelunga (Italy) shortly before Christmas, the new Opel Astra V8 Coupe has completed additional testing mileage at Albacete (Spain), Val de Vienne (France) and Paul Ricard (France). The final aero-package, developed with Opel's partner Fondmetal Engineering, will be used for the first time in the remaining test drives at Oschersleben and Hockenheim.

Strycek added: "The test drives have confirmed our results obtained during the development stage, including wind tunnel data. We're on a good track, with a lot of work ahead of us, though, between now and the first race of the season. At least, when the three manufacturers contesting the DTM first met at the Paul Ricard test, their lap times were very close. This promises to make for a very exciting DTM season, to which we're looking forward with great anticipation."