Jaap van Lagen will return to the World Touring Car Championship for next week’s event on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, rejoining the Lada team in place of James Thompson.
38-year-old Dutchman van Lagen previously competed in the series for Lada in 2008 and 2009.
He has since raced mainly in sportscars, and finished second in the ADAC GT Masters series in Germany last year.
As well as the inaugural WTCC races on the Nordschleife, he will be taking part in the Nurburgring 24 Hours next weekend in a Black Falcon Mercedes SLS.
Van Lagen tested the Lada Vesta at the Hungaroring earlier this week, after Thompson withdrew after qualifying last Saturday.
Dental surgery had been cited as the reason for not taking part in the races, but former double British champion Thompson is now reported to have left the team, albeit Lada has not confirmed this.
