Chris van der Drift has confirmed that he will return to Superleague Formula from the next round at Zolder. He takes the place of Earl Bamber in the Atech Reid car that ran under the New Zealand banner in the Assen opener.
Van der Drift started the season in Formula Renault 3.5 with Mofaz Racing, but ran short of finance prior to this weekend's Nurburgring event. He told AUTOSPORT earlier this week that he was working on a Superleague deal and this has now been finalized.
"At least I know that I'm coming to Superleague race-ready," he said. "I'm really looking forward to this, the Superleague cars are certainly the most enjoyable racing car that I've ever driven, they're big for one thing, and they have all that horsepower."
The 25-year-old New Zealander was a regular race-winner in Superleague last year until sustaining multiple injuries in a ferocious accident at Brands Hatch. He made a remarkable return in time for the season finale. Atech Reid team boss Anthony Reid was pleased to be able to bring van der Drift back into the series for 2011.
"I'm delighted to have Chris back in the car, he's an entertainer and a very good driver," Reid said. "He was leading the championship when he had his accident and you would expect him to be a real contender. We have a great relationship with him as a racing driver, and also throughout the business, he's a very nice person."