THIS weekend sees Nelson driver Jonny Lang contest the opening rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championships.

The 26-year-old is driving for the Liverpool-based Tech 9 team that will see him team up with Phil Keen, one of last year's main rivals to race their Porsche GT3 997.

Lang, who won the 2007 British GT Championship, has tested for Aston Martin and more recently Ascari at Donington Park, but has opted for the Porsche.

He said: "I've been speaking with the team for some time, probably about the last two years. I went for a test with them and they were pleased with me and I was pleased with what they offered me.

"Over the winter I'd been testing various cars, but out of all of them, the Porsche just seemed to be effortless.

"It will be very difficult at Silverstone. The competition is amazing, we were hoping for an upgrade kit for the car, which would have given us more speed, but it hasn't been homologated yet, hopefully we should have it for the next event."

Lang and Keen will be up against a real who's who of cars, which include Morgans, Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lamboughinis, Ford GTs and Jaguars.

There are only five rounds and two races in each round. After Silverstone the Championship then travels to Bucharest for a street race around the Parliament buildings, followed by Monza, Brno (Czech Republic) and Dubai.