Former World Touring Car Championship driver Grégoire Demoustier will replace Pierre-Yves Corthals in the second DG Sport Compétition Opel in next weekend’s TCR International Series races at the Salzburgring.
Demoustier joins the Belgian team alongside Slovakian racer Mat’o Homola, who last time out claimed the team’s best results of the season.
Demoustier previously spent the past two seasons competing in the WTCC, where he scored a best finish of seventh at the Hungaroring last year, at the wheel of a Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën C-Elysée.
The 26-year-old is also competing in the World Rallycross Championship and GT4 racing in 2017, meaning he will have to juggle his TCR campaign alongside his other commitments.
“I’m going to split my time between three entirely different disciplines,” explained Demoustier, who previously tasted a Volkswagen Golf TCR car in last season’s TCR Benelux finale. “Since the beginning of the season I’m taking part in the World Rallycross Championship with a Peugeot 208 Supercar and in GT4 with a Porsche Cayman.
“Now I’m looking forward to discovering the TCR International Series. Even though I have the experience of two WTCC seasons, I will need to get used to the Astra TCR, which is very much different from my rallycross 4×4 and GT4 cars.
“This is why I have not set myself a precise goal for Salzburgring. There I will focus on taking my bearings at the wheel of the car and becoming acquainted with the team.
“Watching the TCR races I saw that drivers fight hard for positions, but I’m not worried about this. I’m very excited to begin this new chapter in my racing career.”
DG Sport Director Christian Jupsin paid tribute to the efforts of Corthals in the first four meetings of 2017, where the Belgian scored three points finishes.
“I would like to point out the crucial part ‘Pilou’ Corthals has played in the car’s development,” said Jupsin. “It’s a shame that sometimes him and Homola have been stripped of the possibility of claiming a deserved victory by some incidents or minor technical issues.
“We are confident that with Mat’o and Grégoire we will be able to break our duck very soon.”