Alex MacDowall moves to World Touring Cars with bamboo engineering

MacDowall, 21, who has spent the last two years with the works Chevrolet team in British Touring Cars, will drive one of the team's two Cruzes alongside single-seater convert Pasquale di Sabatino.

"I am absolutely delighted at being selected by my new team bamboo engineering to represent them in their 2012 WTCC campaign, driving the 1.6 turbo Cruze," said MacDowall, who finished ninth in the BTCC last year.

"It is a fantastic racecar and its great to be continuing my relationship with Chevrolet and the Cruze and two really good campaigns in the BTCC, where I received tremendous support from the fans and sponsors. I'm really looking forward to the challenge of WTCC and I hope to be able to reward bamboo engineering for their faith in my ability with consistently good results."

Unlike MacDowall, di Sabatino has no experience of touring cars. The 24-year-old Italian finished 12th in Auto GP last year and has previously been a racewinner in Formula Renault 3.5.

He said that getting the chance to compete against 2009 world champion Gabriele Tarquini - his racing hero - was also a source of great excitement.

"Moving up to the WTCC is a very important step in my career," he said. "I'm very pleased to be starting this new adventure with bamboo; they are a very good, professional team and have proved themselves in the WTCC previously," he said.

"I have a lot to learn this year but I'm confident that with bamboo we can achieve some good results. It's also very important for me to be competing in this championship as my hero and friend Gabriele Tarquini will also be competing."