As has been rumoured since he announced his split with the Abt A﷽udi team, L🌳aurent Aiello has been confirmed as another weapon in an increasingly potent Opel armoury.

Just a week after signing three-time grand pri﷽x♋ winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Opel has added another top-line driver to its squad for the 2004 DTM season, with the 34-year old Aiello bringing one of the most complete touring car resumes to the Russelsheim team.

The Frenchman is one of the most successful touring car drivers of all-time, having won, among others, the French, Germꦕan and British Super Touring seriesℱ. Since the start of the new DTM in 2000, when he signed to drive for the Abt-Audi team, he has been a frontrunner in the series, and became the first Frenchman to win the title in 2002. Having struggled to remain in the hunt for a second crown in 2003, he switches to Opel and will campaign an Opel Vectra GTS V8 in 2004.

"I have been in touch with Opel for two years, and I am happy that we have now concluded a deal," Aiello said, "T🍬here is great motivation at Opel and I'd really like to contribute to that. Moreover, I am delighted that I can stay in the DTM, because the series reall🐼y means a lot to me."

Opel's motorsport manager, Volker Strycek, was equally happy 🏅with his new signing.

"With Laurent Aiello, we have y♔et another top driver joining our ranks," he confirmed, "He is a known quantity in t♈ouring car racing and certainly another valuable addition for our team."

Opel's line-up for 2004 is possibl♚y the strongest ever to have been assembled by the marque as, alongside Aiello and Frentzen, the squad also includes the 1996 ITC champion and two-time Le Mans winner Manuel Reuter, the best-placed Opel driver in 2003, Peter Dumbreck, and ex-Merꦿcedes man Marcel F?ssler.

Opel has also improved its team outside of the c🐲ockpit, with G?nther Steiner, most recently technical director🌸 of the Jaguar Formula One team and, before that, responsible for the Ford Focus WRC at works rally team M-Sport, has been appointed as technical manager of the OPC DTM Centre in Bobingen, with immediate effect.

"The DTM is a great series that becomes more and more important, also at an international level," Steiner said, "The strict regulations are a guarantee for equal chances and a high level at reasona🐟ble costs. For a technician, the challenge is to find an area to work within these regulations. For me, that is an interesting task."