Photo: Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Tom Dillmann will race in the GP2 Series this season for the new Russian Time team.
The French driver was a race winner last year in his rookie campaign with Rapax before losing his seat mid-season.
At this year?s first pre-season test at Jerez he topped the timesheets with series newcomers Hilmer Motorsport, before switching to another new team Russian Time for Barcelona. The operation is run by Timo Rumpfkeil of the Motopark Academy team, for whom Dillmann has acted as a driver coach in recent times.
?First of all, I would like to thank Igor Mazepa [team principal] and Russian Time for this opportunity,? said the 23-year-old.
?I am very pleased to be joining them for this season. We worked really well together this week at the tests in Barcelona. They are new to the Series, but they have put everything in place to make sure that we are competitive from the start.
?I hope that my experience in GP2 will help them even more. I am convinced that we can challenge the other teams and drivers for wins very quickly and I will push 100% to help Russian Time become one of the top teams of the season.?
Mazepa stated that, although his team is new to the category, Dillmann?s ability will allow them to fight at the very front.
“I am happy to announce Tom Dillmann has joined Russian Time for the 2013 GP2 Series season,? said Mazepa.
?I think Tom is a valuable asset to our team. His talent and experience will be key to our objective of taking Russian Time to the top of the standings this season. Moreover, I would like to add that I believe Tom can be a title contender this season as well. He has what it takes to win from the start.
?He can also be a very valuable teammate to anybody who wants to make an assault for 2013 GP2 crown as well. We’re currently looking for our second driver who will help us in our fight for the Series title.”
The team ran Luciano Bacheta, Christopher Zanella and Robin Frijns in the second car over the course of the Barcelona test.