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Sometime GP2 racer and Racing Point Formula 1 test and simulator driver Nick Yelloly has been named a BMW factory driver for the 2019 season.
Yelloly, 28, made two race appearances for BMW last year in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in a Rowe Racing M6 GT3, alongside Porsche Supercup commitments.
The Briton was one of four drivers BMW invited to test its M4 DTM car at Jerez last December along with Sheldon van der Linde, Mikkel Jensen and Nicky Catsburg.
Van der Linde was selected to fill the seat vacated by Augusto Farfus in the manufacturer’s DTM line-up for 2019, but Yelloly’s relationship with BMW will continue into the new season.
His first outing will be in the opening round of the China GT Championship in AAI Motorsports’ BMW M6 GT3 at Sepang on March 16-17, alongside Taiwanese driver Junsan Chen.
A BMW statement said further events for Yelloly would be announced at a later time, although he has already been named as one of eight drivers for this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Since his single-seater career came to an end after a sole GP2 campaign in 2015 with the Hilmer team, Yelloly has largely raced Porsches, contesting the German Carrera Cup in 2016 and ’17.
He made appearances in the Formula 1-supporting Supercup in both years before joining the series full-time in 2018, finishing second in the points behind Michael Ammermuller.