Mexico City Formula E: Dillmann to complete shakedown for Venturi
Formula V8 3.5 champion Tom Dillmann will deputise for Toyota World Endurance Championship driver Stephane Sarrazin in Formula E's Mexico City shakedown
Sarrazin will fly overnight from Toyota's Monza WEC launch to Mexico with team-mates Sebastien Buemi and Jose Maria Lopez, missing the shakedown session on Friday.
The Venturi team has called up Dillmann to stand in for Sarrazin, shaking down both of his cars, and will act as cover in the event of any travel delays
"It's a good opportunity," Dillmann told Autosport.
""The aim is to race full-time for the next season, so it's interesting for me to be in this role with Venturi.
"Formula E is a championship of the future, attracting more and more constructors, and racing there would be a good option.
"I'm still a young driver, albeit very experienced in single-seaters since I started at age 14.
"I won a title in [German] F3, another in one of F1's feeder series [Formula V8 3.5], I raced in endurance too - I think I can still do good things."
Dillmann has some experience of Formula E machinery after driving for Team Aguri at a Donington Park test in August 2015.
He contested the WEC finale last year in LMP2 after winning the Formula V8 3.5 title, is yet to lock in a full-time 2017 programme.
Autosport understands, though, that the 27 year-old is currently unlikely to make Formula E race debut at Paris in May when regular driver Maro Engel misses the event due to Mercedes DTM commitments.
Venturi is close to finalising another driver for the Paris, with Engel to be racing at the Lausitzring.
TEAMS LOCK IN SHAKEDOWN PLANS
Nicolas Prost will undertake the shakedown solo for Renault e.dams, driving all four its of its Z.E.16s.
Prost is limited to six laps across all four cars, so will not gain a competitive advantage.
Renault had hoped to draft in Oliver Rowland to split Friday duties, with championship leader Buemi flying in overnight from Toyota's LMP1 launch, but the Briton is on Formula 2 testing duty in Bahrain.
Alex Lynn will get his first taste of a Formula E event, driving Lopez's DS Virgin Racing cars, while ex-Formula 1 driver Esteban Gutierrez makes his debut with the Techeetah team
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