Swedish star Stefan Soderberg, who finished sixth overall in the 2003 Formula Renault UK Championship, is to make his competitive return to the category at Donington Park in just over a week’s time after signing a deal with Team JLR.

The 20-year old, from Gaule in Sweden, hasn’t been racing for the majority of the year but his entry into the last two rounds of the 2004 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin is a real boost to the series - Soderberg having previously finished on the podium on two occasions last season.

Commenting on the deal, Team JLR boss Richard Dean said: “Stefan’s certainly fast and we like him a lot. He’s very well known in our team by Dave Forster, who obviously ran Stefan in 2003 at Team DFR, so we’re looking forward to a great partnership.

“Stefan’s proven to a be a very quick driver and when he took part in an official Formula Renault UK test with us earlier in the year he was the quickest guy out there, with the exception of Andrew Kirkaldy. I’m quite optimistic about our chances, hopefully a top six finish isn’t out of the question.”

Soderberg competed in Formula Renault UK earlier this season with Hill Speed Racing, at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit and Silverstone International Circuit, before going on to take part in the aforementioned official test at Snetterton with Team JLR, lapping just two 10ths of a second outside Mike Conway’s outright lap record.

His motorsport career began in karting where, in 1999, the Swede won the highly competitive Junior ICA Kart Winter Cup meeting at Garda in Italy. In 2001, he made his car debut in the Swedish Formula Ford Zetec Series and finished third overall before debuting in Formula Renault UK the following season.

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