Subaru sign Pons until 2009

The 27-year-old Spanish will drive a third Impreza WRC2007 for the last eight rallies of the season, starting in Rally Finland in August.

Subaru said they also have an option on Pons' services for 2009.

Pons had announced at the end of last year that he would sit out the 2007 season after competing with the Kronos Racing team in 2006.

"We have worked very hard to make this happen and I'm very happy to be back in the World Rally Championship with a top team," said Pons. "This is a fantastic opportunity to prove myself against the best drivers, and I want to repay the faith the Subaru World Rally Team has shown in me by producing excellent results.

"It will be a great experience for me to be part of the same team as Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson, and I can't wait to drive the Impreza WRC2007 for the first time."

Pons, who this year last competed in Rally Norway with a Mitsubishi, will get acquainted with the Subaru on the team's pre-Rally Finland gravel test in the middle of July.

Richard Taylor, Subaru World Rally Team managing director, added: "We're delighted to be able to field a car for Xevi. It is a huge bonus to get another experienced driver into the team to complement our existing driver line-up.

"Although Xevi has been around in the WRC for a few years, he has never driven a Subaru in all that time, but we're looking forward to welcoming him into our team and developing a working relationship with him.

"The logistics of running three cars instead of two will not present a problem for the team, bearing in mind we ran three cars on selected events last season. We always maintained that we'd be happy to expand our team again if we could find a driver who is serious about his approach to the sport and Xevi fits that bill perfectly."