Alexendre Premat to race for Scuderia Corsa in IMSA next year

The Frenchman, who drove for Audi in both the DTM and in LMP1, will race the Los Angeles-based squad's GT Le Mans class Ferrari 488 GTE in the four races that make up the IMSA series' North American Endurance Cup in 2016.

He will share the car with Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra, who both have close links with the Ferrari factory.

The deal marks Premat's return to sportscar racing for the first time since a programme of three Blancpain Endurance Series races with the ART McLaren team in 2014.

Premat explained that the chance of the drive came after he moved to the US to set up home in Las Vegas in the summer and renewed his acquaintance with new Scuderia Corsa managing director Eric Bachelart.

"I've kept in touch with Eric over the years since I tested one of his Champ Cars nearly 10 year ago [for the Conquest team]," Premat told .

"Then I met Giacomo [Mattioli, owner of Scuderia Corsa], and he liked my profile and saw from what I had done in V8 Supercars in Australia that I could adapt quickly.

"I'm delighted to be part of his programme and it is a very good first step for me in America."

Premat revealed that he expects to continue racing in the enduro V8 Supercars rounds, but was unable to say with which team or manufacturer it would be.

Scuderia Corsa is moving into the GT Le Mans class in IMSA with a programme in the enduros at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta after winning the GT Daytona class with Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler in 2015.

It is also likely that it will contest the Long Beach and Laguna Seca races close to its base.

The team will also defend its GTD title with a line-up that includes former Aston Martin driver Christina Nielsen, who Bell and Sweedler beat to the title.

The Dane will be joined for the full season by Alessandro Balzan, who raced for the team in 2012-14, while Jeff Segal will complete the line-up in the series-opening Daytona 24 Hours next month.

Scuderia Corsa will also compete in the Pirelli World Challenge and Ferrari Challenge North America one-make series.

Mattioli explained that he wanted "to create a platform where we could take a driver starting out in the Ferrari Challenge and bring them all the way to the GTLM class".