COUNTY DURHAM teenager Matthew Graham will compete in the opening round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup series this weekend, after agreeing a late deal with Spanish team AV Formula.

After contesting the Formula Renault Northern European Cup together in 2014, 18-year-old Graham will renew his partnership with the Barcelona-based team at this weekend’s meeting at the Motorland circuit in the Aragon region of Spain.

Racing at the same circuit in 2014 in only his second event in a Formula Renault car, Graham impressed by scoring a point on his debut and outpacing more experienced rivals.

With a year’s worth of experience to call upon, the youngster, whose long-term ambition is to compete in Formula One, is hoping he will be able to shine and enjoy a strong performance, in spite of missing all of the championship’s pre-season test sessions.

“I’m really excited to be racing this weekend,” said Graham, who is from Edmundbyers. “It has been a long winter and for a large part of it, I really wasn’t sure I would be racing at all this year so I’m thrilled that AV have made this opportunity possible.

“We are going back to a track where I had a good run last year, finishing inside the points and I am hoping to have an even better run out this time.

“To do that, I am going to have to drive well and have a strong qualifying as the standard of driving in the championship is really high. It’s one of the top junior single-seater championships, but I am hopeful of doing well so people can see what pace and potential I have.”

Formula Renault 2.0 is a single-seat racing category that runs as part of the World Series by Renault events, which attract crowds of up to 80,000 spectators.