Chris van der Drift will return to the Superleague Formula grid for the second round of the 2011 season at Zolder in Belgium in July. He will race the all-black car of his home nation New Zealand.
Following his huge accident at the Brands Hatch race last year, van der Drift recovered in time to appear at the final round of the season at Navarra.
He started 2011 in Formula Renault 3.5, but he will now return to Superleague to race the Atech Reid-prepared ‘Black Beauty’ New Zealand car that was driven by Earl Bamber at the season opener at Assen.
“At least I know that I’m coming to Superleague race-ready,” said the 25-year-old. “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 horse power. You have so much under your right-foot to play with, and then you have the ‘Push-to-Pass’ as well. Add in lots of pit stops, and it#s all there to make great racing.”
“It’s pretty special to be back driving the All Black car, I watched the first round live on-line and on TV, and the car looks stunning in that livery. I know that fans back in New Zealand will be keen to get behind it. It will be great to get behind the wheel of Black Beauty.”
“It will also be good to catch up with a few of the guys and to race against them too. They are a good bunch of guys and you have good racing, everyone respects each other and it's a great place to race.”
Team principal Anthony Reid said: “I’m delighted to have Chris back in the car, he’s an entertainer and a very good driver. 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.”
