De Paddock - Bleekemolen in DTM

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Young Dutch driver Jeroen Bleekemolen has signed to race for the Opel team in this year's DTM championship, the manufacturer announced today (Friday).

The 21-year-old Dutchman is the fourth driver Opel has signed for its 2003 DTM campaign. He will partner returning drivers Manuel Reuter, Alain Menu and Timo Scheider in the marque's line-up.

"I'm overjoyed," said Bleekemolen. "Being able to enter the DTM makes a dream come true for me. Of course, there's a lot for me to learn, but I'm confident that I'll be able to hold my ground against the seasoned DTM pros.

"The DTM is highly popular in the Netherlands. I can hardly wait to compete in the race at my home track in Zandvoort, with 50,000 fans in attendance. I'm sure this will be my personal highlight of the season."

I'm confident that I'll be able to hold my own

Jeroen Bleekemolen

Opel motorsport director Volker Strycek said: "Jeroen Bleekemolen convincingly demonstrated his talent during our drivers' evaluation. At the age of 21, he has an impressive basic speed and is highly capable of providing feedback to the engineers. Jeroen perfectly fits our concept of promoting young drivers by entering them in the DTM series."

Bleekemolen started his career in karting in 1995. He moved up to cars in 1998, and has competed in the German Formula 3 championship. He won the FIA GT championship in 2001, driving a Chrysler Viper alongside Mike Hezemans. Last year, he competed in the Dutch Touring Car Championship, clinching second place in the final standings.

bron autosport.com