Alvaro Parente, Frederic Makowiecki join Hexis McLaren World GT1 line-up

Alvaro Parente will head the driver line-up for the Hexis McLaren squad in the GT1 World Championship this year.

The 27-year-old Portuguese, who is contracted to McLaren, was one of four drivers named by Hexis, which will be the constructor's lone representative in the series.

Parente, a former British Formula 3 and Formula Renault 3.5 champion, will be joined in the driver line-up by World GT1 race winners Stef Dusseldorp and Frederic Makowiecki and up and coming Frenchman Gregoire Demoustier.

"Last year, we did a lot of work with McLaren GT's staff to make the MP4-12C GT3 competitive, well balanced and easy to drive. The team doesn't know the car yet but with my experience I can help them to set it up," Parente said.

"I've already worked with a French team and it's a great memory as I took the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship! Hexis has won many races and titles so we've got every reason to be optimistic."

Hexis - the 2011 GT1 world champion team - confirmed late last year that it was switching from Aston Martin to McLaren machinery as the series swaps from GT1 to GT3 technical regulations.

Although the driver pairings for the two cars have not been announced, Hexis said that there would be "an identical 50/50 share-out between drivers with well-established reputations and promising young chargers".