Firman to start season for Ireland

The 32-year-old last raced for the team at Laguna Seca in March 2006, but he has rejoined the team as they aim to bounce back from a difficult second season in the series.

"I am delighted to represent Ireland in the opening race of the season," said Firman. "We achieved a great deal together in the opening season when we scored a podium in only our third race."

Firman's third place finish at Estoril in 2005 remains the team's best result to date, but the former Formula One driver believes that the outfit have improved a great deal since he last raced for them.

"It is clear from my return to the team that it has moved to a completely new level in terms of technical capability. The team has always had the potential to win, and everyone is focused on doing just that."

Team boss Mark Kershaw said that more driver announcements will be made shortly, and he praised the efforts of Firman and Adam Carroll in pre-season testing.

"Ralph return to Team Ireland is most welcome as he has achieved our best results to date," he said. "The performance of Ralph and Adam in testing showed our potential.

"We have further announcements to make about drivers in the coming weeks, but for the moment our focus is on the new look Team Ireland."

It is likely that Carroll will race for the team at some point, although he will probably have to wait until the GP2 season has finished to get his chance.