Chennai, Jan 22 (IANS) Sailesh Bolisetti, the 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup racing champion, will turn out for Lotus Sport team in the 2012 Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

The 23-year old from Visakhapatnam will pilot the Lotus Evora in the GT4 class of the series, according to a press release.

One of the rare drivers who prefer saloon cars to single-seaters, Bolisetti cut his racing teeth in the 2008 JK Tyre National championship where he showcased his natural speed and aggression.

Bolisetti was third in the championship in 2009 and but for a couple of mishaps, he was on course to win the title in 2010, but took the crown in the inaugural Volkswagen Polo Cup series that was run concurrently.

The Polo Cup success earned him a berth in the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup in Europe, but without much success as he finished his international debut season 15th overall with 110 points.

Nursing a dream of participating in the touring and sportscar championships like DTM and Le Mans, Bolisetti opted for the highly competitive British GT championship that will serve as a stepping stone for other top-end series.

“This will be a completely different experience when driving to one-make series. The car is obviously quicker than whatever I have driven before and handling is in a different league, given the mid-engine layout.

“But it is more than the car alone. This is a factory team with a test-track which is also used for F1 testing. Hence all their efforts and resources will be focused on making our car/driver combination as competitive as possible.

“It is a great commitment since brand Lotus will compete in the same grid as Ferraris, Porsches and Aston Martins, leaving no room for complacency,” said Bolisetti.

Bolisetti had a taste of the four-litre 355bhp Evora GT4 race car at the factory test track in Norfolk, UK and he will get more seat time over the next two months before the season starts at Oulton Park April 7.

Lotus Sport UK team manager Gary Ayles, who was also involved with the A1GP India team and raced Formula 3 at the Sriperumbudur circuit, said: “Sailesh is a strong talent that hadn’t been discovered in Europe, until now.

“I first got to know him and his father through my contacts in India and we kept in touch. Now he has come of age and is ready to race here in Europe with our team. You need to keep an eye on this lad, he has immense potential.”

The British GT championship consists of seven rounds of double-headers that will be run at some of the famous tracks such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Nurburgring.

Bolisetti is also due to participate in the inaugural five-round i1 Supercar series in February and March, where he will be driving the Radical SR3 cars.