DS Virgin Racing have announced that two-time WTCC champion Jose Maria Lopez will race for the team in the 2016-17 Formula E Season.
The Argentine will partner DS Virgin mainstay Sam Bird as Formula E enters its third season; Bird having raced for the team since their inception as Virgin Racing in the inaugural season.
Lopez already has strong links to his DS, currently participating in the World Touring Car Chanpionship with Citroën, with whom he has won two championships. He currently sits first in the standings for 2016, with six wins to his name, making a third likely.
Though successful in closed-cockpit racing, Lopez has enjoyed success in single seaters, taking a brace of podiums in the final season of International Formula 3000, and a win in the inaugural season of GP2 which followed it.
Of his move to Formula E, he said: "This is a really exciting move for me and I’m looking forward to the challenge of Formula E. I have already had some experience working with the team, so I am confident that we can achieve great things together next season."
Team mate to be Sam Bird won the Buenos Aires ePrix in 2016, and Lopez says it is a location he anticipates re-visiting.
"As a championship, Formula E is going from strength to strength and I’m particularly looking forward to going back to Buenos Aires where the team had such great success last season.”
DS Virgin Team Principal Alex Tai spoke of the new signing too, saying "I’m absolutely delighted to announce our driver line up for next season and to welcome José María to the DS Virgin Racing family.
"Jose is a proven world champion who has performed at the highest level and shown great speed and consistency in every motorsport discipline that he has competed in. I have every confidence that he will be able to translate that success to Formula E."
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