New Zealander Simon Evans, older brother of current Formula E driver and former GP3 champion Mitch Evans, will contest the inaugural season of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY which will act as a support series for the all-electric championship.
Evans, 27, has a proven track record in touring cars having been crowned as the champion of the 2014-15 V8 SuperTourer season, claiming the title after securing victories at nine of the 15 races of the season while only missing out on a podium finish on one occasion.
“My brother races in Formula E and I’ve been following it for a few years now; it’s exciting, it’s definitely the future so it’s great to be involved,” said Evans.
“The car exceeded all my expectations, it was really nice to drive and the braking performance is really good.
“Having my brother there will be great too – we’ll be supporting each other and he’ll definitely be pushing me on," he added.
Evans has been named as the fifth driver to contest Season One of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, with Katherine Legge and Bryan Sellers representing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing while Sergio Jimenez and Caca Bueno will drive for Jaguar Brazil Racing.
Earlier this week, testing for the series began at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, with drivers securing some valuable time behind the wheel of Jaguar's electric SUV ahead of the series' first race at Ad Diriyah on December 15.
“This week’s test confirmed the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY is shaping up to offer exciting, close and really competitive racing," said Marion Barnaby, Championship Manager of the all-new electric production car series.
"The standard of drivers is high and with five continents already represented on the grid it is going to be a truly international series.
"We’re looking forward to unveiling more competitors and completing final testing before our debut in Ad Diriyah on 15 December.”
Evans will represent a multi-sponsored team from the Asia Pacific region while additional teams from the Middle East, China and Europe will be confirmed in due course.
