Mowlem lands Porsche GT drive

He will return to the Petersen Motorsports team he raced for last year, joining US racer Randy Pobst behind the wheel of a factory-backed Porsche 911 GT3-RS.

The team had planned to sit out the series, but has now made a U-turn and will compete in the six remaining US rounds, running on Pirelli tyres. Mowlem will drive in all the races, including the blue-riband Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

"There are two reasons I'm pleased with this deal," Mowlem told Autosport.com. "Firstly, I'm going back with a team I've been with before. We are in a good position against the Alex Job-run cars. Whether we can beat them remains to be seen, but we will certainly rattle their chain.

Secondly, we are on Pirelli tyres and they have really stepped up in performance. Pirelli will be desperate to beat Michelin, which Job runs on."

The deal completes a strong season programme for Mowlem. He also has a factory drive at the Le Mans 24 Hours secured, and is expected to race the Crawford prototype with NASCAR star Tony Stewart in the Watkins Glen 6 Hours.

"It is very nice to have the prototype chance, a Le Mans drive and manage to keep the links with Porsche as well," said Mowlem. "It's the best of three worlds!"