Artam joins Coloni for 2004

Artam, 22, contested a couple of British F3 races last year, and has also raced in Formula Renault V6. He is the first Turkish driver to race in International F3000.

"I am thrilled to be participating in this championship with Coloni Motorsport,'' said Artam. "We have been considering various options during the last few months - EuroF3, British F3, Euro3000 and FIA International Formula 3000 - but Coloni Motorsport turned out the be the best option to further develop my career. The team's results in the past few years [Coloni finished second in 2003, scoring two wins with Ricardo Sperafico] and their approach to racing was the most attractive proposition."

Coloni chief Paolo Coloni said: "With the Turkish Grand Prix programmed in 2005 we are excited to have signed Can Artam with our team. I came across Can last year when we were competing in the winter series in the USA in early 2003 and when we heard he was coming to race in Europe we got in touch and it only took few weeks for him to sign with us. We are now completing our line up and will be able to make an official announcement about our other drivers in the next few days."

Artam is racing in the Formula Renault Winter Series in Florida, and will travel directly to Jerez for the first official testing session on February 17-18.

He added: "I want to be well prepared for the 2005 GP2 series when my ultimate aim is to become the first Turkish driver to race on my hometown Formula 1 track."