Russian sportscar outfit G-Drive Racing has agreed a deal with French squad TDS Racing to run a car in the 2017 World Endurance Championship LMP2 category.
TDS will operate the G-Drive backed ORECA 07 for 2015 LMP2 class champion Roman Rusinov.
G-Drive Racing posted a render of the car on Twitter to confirm the news:
Rusinov is set to share the car with Pierre Thiriet, who represented TDS Racing in the European Le Mans Series last season. Autosport.com reported that "several drivers with Formula 1 race experience" are in talks with G-Drive over the third seat.
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Thiriet fills the gap for a mandatory silver-rated driver in the lineup, whilst Rusinov moves in as a gold competitor following his re-grading from silver at the end of 2016.
TDS Racing will operate two ORECA 07s in this year's LMP2 category, with an in-house effort already confirmed for Emmanuel Collard, François Perrodo and Mathieu Vaxivière.
The French team is stepping up to the World Endurance Championship having competed in the European Le Mans since 2010, winning the title with Pierre Thiriet and Mathias Beche in 2012.
G-Drive Racing finished third in the WEC LMP2 championship last season, supported at the time by British squad Jota Sport.
Rusinov's team claimed victory in the six-hour races at Fuji, Shanghai and Bahrain, and claimed a podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
