Monday August 19th, 2002

Fabian Coulthard on Monday took a step towards joining his cousin David in Formula One when he signed a deal to compete in England in the Formula Renault Championship with Manor Motorsport.

New Zealander Coulthard, 19, will compete in the three remaining rounds of the season with Manor Motorsport, who took Kimi Raikkonen to the Formula Renault title, and will make his debut at Brands Hatch on Bank Holiday Monday.

Coulthard was born in Burnley but emigrated to New Zealand when he was just 11 months old and has been competing in domestic championships before making the switch to Europe.

"We are really throwing Fabian into the deep end here," Coulthard's manager Grant Sloss said. "He will only have had one test in the Renault car before his first race at Brands Hatch.

"He will be up against some of the best open-wheeled drivers in Europe with years of experience at this level of racing. We don't expect him to win, but to gain valuable experience to take on the championship next year."

Published at 16:21:58 GMT

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