Caffi for LMES Promec

The car will be run by ex-Formula 3000 team GP Racing. FIA GT race winner Gabriele Gardel and Euro F3000 runner-up Fabrizio del Monte are talking to GP regarding the remaining seats in the line-up.

The team will contest the full LMES championship but will not seek a Le Mans 24 Hour race entry for the new Judd-powered car.

"We have decided to take part in this championship because it is very challenging," said GP team boss Tancredi Pagiaro. "We will be managing a very demanding car that I'm sure will bring us a lot of satisfaction throughout the season."

Caffi, 40, has been an occasional GT and sports-prototype racer in recent seasons, his commitments including a stint in the old Peugeot-engined Promec in the 2003 Sports Racing World Championship. The Italian is best known for an often-promising F1 career with Osella, Scuderia Italia, Arrows and Andrea Moda between 1986 and 1992.

"I'm very satisfied with the agreement we made with Alex Caffi," said Pagiaro. "I think that he is a fast driver with undisputed experience. We are working hard to put together a very competitive crew."

GP was planning to contest the new Formula Superfund series in 2005, having been a frontrunner in the championship's predecessor Euro F3000, but the current uncertainty over Superfund's initiative led Pagiaro to seek other opportunities for his team. He stressed his continued commitment to Superfund, however.

"Participating in this championship (LMES) will not in any way stand in the way of our participation in the Formula Superfund series," said Pagiaro. "We currently do not know what the (Superfund) programme is and while we wait for more information we decided to face this adventure."