Following weeks of uncertainty regarding his 2011 motor racing plans, Dutchman Thomas Hylkema is delighted to confirm his return to competitive action after today, Monday, 30th May, finalising a deal with Tech 1 Racing to graduate to FIA Formula One World Championship support category GP3. The 22-year-old, from Delft in The Netherlands, has raced in Formula Renault UK for the past three years and although testing GP3 Series machinery during the off-season, he wasn't able to secure the right deal to make the step-up. Despite having missed the first two events of the 2011 season in Istanbul, Turkey, and Barcelona, Spain, Thomas' agreement with French squad Tech 1 means he will contest the six remaining race meetings on the GP3 calendar. His debut will come over the weekend 25th/26th June at Valencia Street Circuit, Spain, in support of the European Grand Prix. "This is a magnificent opportunity for me", he said, "I'm so excited to be making my race debut in GP3 and especially with such a strong and dynamic team as Tech 1, they've already shown what they can do this season so I know I'm in the right place to learn. "Everything has come together very quickly. For a while we weren't sure what would be happening this year but this opportunity is a fantastic one - GP3 is exactly where I wanted to be this year and I'm absolutely delighted to be on the grid for the rest of the season. I want to say a big thank you to my family, management and sponsors for making this deal happen." Beginning his racing career in karting back in 2004, Thomas' first experience of cars came two years later in the Benelux Racing League Light where he took victory at the Nurburgring in Germany and qualified on pole position at Zolder in Belgium.  Moving into the ranks of Formula BMW in 2007, racing in the German national championship and the Formula BMW World Final, he then travelled to Britain to compete in Formula Renault UK where he remained until the end of last year. His maiden podiums in the category came during the 2009 Winter Championship and he went on to secure his first Formula Renault UK pole position in 2010. Although having made a handful of test outings in GP3, Thomas knows he faces a very steep-learning curve with the first two race meetings of the season already completed. That said, he believes the Tech 1 Racing team will afford him the best chance of developing strongly with the Toulouse squad already a race winner and multiple podium finisher this year. "There's a lot for me to get adjusted to, especially with all of the other drivers having experience from the first two race meetings", he added, "One of the biggest changes for me is the move from Michelin tyres, which I've been on in Formula Renault for the last three years, to Pirelli. I obviously got some understanding from the tests I did over the winter though so that will have helped." Away from the track, Thomas - who is the brother of current British Formula 3 'Rookie Class' driver Bart - will continue to combine his racing with studies for a degree in Aerospace Engineering which he is currently undertaking at home in The Netherlands. His first test outing with Tech 1 will come during the officially timed GP3 Series test in Hungary this week, Wednesday, 1st June, and Thursday, 2nd June. From there Thomas will embark on his maiden race weekend in GP3 at the end of the month.