Philippe lands CTE-HVM drive

The Frenchman, who last year won the Most Improved Driver Award, as voted by his peers in the Champ Car World Series, expressed his relief at finally clinching the deal, having spoken to CTE's team boss Keith Wiggins since last July.

"I am so happy to be with CTE," he told autosport.com. "Last year at Conquest we were aiming for top tens each race. This year, with CTE-HVM, I feel we'll be top ten every race, and we can aim for top five.

"This team is so pissed off that they didn't do so well last year: now I feel we have both got to prove ourselves together. I'm tired of running mid-pack.

"I want to be right up there, and with the involvement of Cedric the Entertainer [comic actor who has bought shares in the team], I think this is a team going forward. Seriously, Cedric is very involved in getting companies interested in this team. He's a real positive."

Philippe continued: "I'm young, I want to learn to work in another environment, and I want to make my career in this series a long one. I am so confident that this is a big step.

"I think we can aim to have a podium in the first half of a season and look to get a win in the second half. Sure it's very ambitious, but great achievements start with great dreams, right?"

New team boss Keith Wiggins commented: "We have seen great potential in Nelson over the past season and we were keen to see what he could do on our team.

"He is young and has learned a lot over the past seasons. Some mistakes have not deterred him and he has become faster each season, which sets him up as a serious challenger now.

"We expect great things together."