Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde has been confirmed as Caterham's new reserve and test driver for the 2012 season, set to take part in both pre-season testing and selected Friday practice sessions during the season.
The Dutchman was confirmed in the reserve role on Saturday, with the team confirming that he would be a "core part" of the team this year.Van der Garde has raced in GP2 since for the last three years, picking up three wins in the 2009 season, and won the Formula Renault 3.5 championship back in 2008.
He has also enjoyed previous F1 test experience with Super Aguri and Spyker, and tested for Renault as a prize for winning his 2008 crown.
The Caterham squad confirmed that van der Garde would take part in pre-season testing, as well as "a number" of FP1 sessions throughout the 2012 season.
"The team is fresh, with some fantastic people here," van der Garde grinned after the announcement, "Tony Fernandes is extremely ambitious and he has brought in a lot of very good people in to help grow this team for future success.
"I'm looking forward to learning and moving forward with the team, in and out of the car."
He added: "It's great for Holland that we again have a Dutch driver who is connected to Formula One.
"Being the only Dutch driver now is very good for the sport in Holland, as the interest was perhaps on the decline since the [Jos] Verstappen years, however I hope to generate the same excitement for my country and really bring Formula 1 to them."
Caterham team boss Tony Fernandes added: "He is a very exciting prospect that we have been monitoring since the early days of our team.
"We are all looking forward to seeing how he can help us develop throughout the season as we take our next steps towards the established midfield teams ahead.
"His performances in GP2, particularly in 2011, mark Giedo out as one of motorsport's brightest prospects, and securing him as reserve driver is a real coup for our team."
Van der Garde had been linked with a drive with the HRT squad for 2012, with backing from his sponsors, but that seat has gone to Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan.
The team has yet to confirm when van der Garde will make his testing debut, though they are the only team who have not yet confirmed their driver running order for next week's Jerez test.
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