Thailand's Piti Bhirombhakdi and co-driver Carlo Van Dam are ready for this year's challenging Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.
Representing the TP12 Motorsport team, Piti and his Dutch partner will join the five-event GT Series in Europe, driving a Ferrari 488 GT 3 which will be serviced by Kessel team.
Piti, who won the GT Asia 2016 at Fuji International Speedway, said he and Van Dam were seeking a more challenging competition and that is why they decided to compete in this year's GT Series.
"All the five circuits are really tough. They are tough not because of just their layouts. They are also tough because of the high standards of the racers there.
"As a racer, it is going to be a good experience and a big test for me."
The 37-year-old Thai driver admitted that he might struggle with weather and circuit conditions in Europe, but with the new service team, podium finishes at all the five circuits were realistic targets.
"Our new partnership with the Kessel team, which will take care of the car and service it at all races, makes us more confident in our debut year at the GT Series.
"I believe we can hope for the podium at all the circuits."
Piti and Van Dam will start their season at Misano in Italy on April 1-2, followed by Brands Hatch in Kent, England on May 6-7, Solder in Belgium on June 2-4, Budapest in Hungary on Aug 25-27 and Nurburgring in Germany on Sept 15-17.
At last year's edition, Austria's Dominik Baumann and Germany's Maximilian Buhk of HTP Motorsport were the overall winners in both drivers and team championships.