Duncan Tappy will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of his former Formula Renault UK adversary Will Bratt after it was announced he would be joining DAMS for the 2010 season to race in the Auto GP championship.
The championship was narrowly won last year under its former name of Euroseries 3000 by Bratt, who lost out to Tappy and Dean Smith when the Surrey driver took the Formula Renault UK title in 2007.
The season begins on the weekend of April 24-25 at Brno in the Czech Republic, but Tappy’s preparation will be helped by being reunited with an old friend – the Lola B05/52 car that previously saw service with A1GP, where he twice did duty as Team GB rookie driver.
He said: “I’m very excited about racing in Auto GP and to be with such a great team as DAMS is a fantastic opportunity. I loved my time in the car with A1 Team GB and can’t wait to get on track at Brno.”
The announcement represents yet another new series for Tappy to drive in – a lack of funding has blighted his career since his Formula Renault UK championship year and he has turned out for three different Superleague Formula teams as well as competing in Formula Master, Indy Lights and World Series by Renault.
He said: “The main thing for me is to have a full racing season ahead if me, which hasn’t been the case for the last two years. I am confident that the certainty and continuity will translate into success on track.
“I want to give another big thank you to my management company CJ Motorsport for making it happen, as well as to Mr Driot and everyone at DAMS and Enzo Coloni at Auto GP for welcoming me into their championship.”
Tappy’s team-mates at the French squad will be Formula Three Euro Series, A1GP, Formula Two and GP2 Asia graduate Edoardo Piscopo, and former iSport GP2 Asia driver Hamad Al Fardan.
Rivals will include former GP2 champion Giorgio Pantano, Swiss racer Natacha Gachnang, and former A1 Team New Zealand racer Jonny Reid.
Tappy has already made a good start to the 2010 season with a podium at the inaugural Superleague Formula race at Silverstone where he was driving the Flamengo car.
Series boss Enzo Coloni added: “We are happy to have a British driver in our championship, and most importantly that he’s a very talented one.
“Duncan already showed what he is capable of, and we’re sure that he has found the right package with DAMS and Auto GP. He already knows the car, and there’s no doubt that he will be very fast straight out of the box.”