Swedish driver Robert Dahlgren will join Kiwi young gun Scott McLaughlin behind the wheel of Volvo’s new V8 Supercar entries for its debut season in the category.
Volvo Polestar Racing, formerly Garry Rogers Motorsport, on Thursday unveiled Dahlgren as McLaughlin’s teammate for 2014 following months of speculation.
The 34-year-old has spent the past 10 years as a factory driver for Volvo Polestar, most recently finishing third in the 2013 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship.
He’s also previously won titles in the British, Swedish and Nordic Formula Ford championships.
While the experienced driver said his switch to V8 Supercars was an easy decision, he concedes the move to Australia will be one of the toughest challenges of his career.
Dahlgren – the first Swede to contest a full season in the V8s – is yet to drive the marque’s S60 package, which only recently got its first run ahead of the official test day at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 15.
“I’ve had big challenges before, but then I’ve done that in cars that I know,” he told AAP.
“This is something new – all new tracks for me, all new championship, new team, new car. Everything’s brand new.
“I just need to find my way, my place in the team and just try to work with the guys to help me as much as possible in the beginning and hopefully later on in the year I can bring something to the table.”
Dahlgren replaces Frenchman Alex Premat following his departure from Garry Rogers Motorsport after two years.
Rogers said he hadn’t spent a lot of time with his new recruit but labelled him a “bloody good bloke – and can drive a racecar”.
“Being a winner of the British Formula Ford Championship – one of the world’s most competitive categories – he should adapt to our cars quite quickly and be a big positive for the team,” Rogers said.
Dahlgren hopes his involvement with the newly-formed outfit will help make it a competitive force alongside Holden, Ford, Nissan and Mercedes.
“I would like to end the year with being happy that I’ve taken everything out of my ability and go from there,” he said.
“If don’t do a good job this year, I will be very quickly out of the door. So I’m trying to take one step at a time.”
The season begins with the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide from February 27.