Chevrolet signs Larini

Larini joins Swiss former BTCC champion Alain Menu on the driving force for the team of Chevrolet Lacettis as British rising star Rob Huff becomes an ever-hotter tip to land the third seat.

Larini has enormous touring car experience on top of his single-seater pedigree as an F1 driver and even competed in the only previous edition of the World Touring Car Championship - with a handful of appearances in a factory Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo.

He won the DTM in 1993 and the Italian Superturismo Championship in 1992 and was a prominent contender in the new WTCC's predecessor, the European Touring Car Championship with Alfa Romeo between 2001 and 2003, winning eight races.

Larini commented: "I just could not miss the opportunity to join a world-renowned brand like Chevrolet that has a long record of wins on tracks from Indianapolis to Le Mans. Chevrolet now is entering the new World Championships at a time when they will be even more competitive with the new brands joining. I am extremely focused on this challenge and I am sure that my experience as a development driver will be an asset for this program".

Eric Neve, the man in charge of the racing activities at Chevrolet Europe, added: "With Nicola and Alain we are happy to have two very popular and experienced drivers in our team. With such a strong driver line-up, we now plan to offer our third cockpit to a young driver who has had some initial success with front wheel driven race cars."

Huff, who made a big impression in his first season in the British Touring Car Championship in 2004 with the RML-run SEAT, fits the third deriver bill precisely.