Fisichella Motor Sport International has announced that it has signed Michael Herck to participate in the inaugural GP2 Asia Series in 2008.

Michael, a 19-year-old Romanian who is now based in Monaco, heads to GP2 Asia after testing for the FMSI team for two days at the GP2 test at Jerez in October. He began racing karts in France in 1999, and collected nine championship and cup wins during his four year karting career.

Michael moved up to single-seater racing in 2004, winning both the Italian Formula Renault 1600 and Spanish Formula Junior 1600 championships outright. Two more series championships came his way the following year, when he picked up the Australian Formula Three and Central European Zone Formula Three trophies. He scored a podium during his year in the Formula Three Euroseries in 2006 before competing four races in the 2007 World Series by Renault.

The 2008 GP2 Asia Series will see Michael facing his biggest challenge yet. GP2 Asia will comprise ten races held over five race weekends, kicking off in Dubai on 25 January. The series will then visit Sentul in Indonesia before acting as the main support race for the Malaysian and Bahrain Formula One Grands Prix. The series finale will see teams returning to Dubai in April.

Michael Herck: "I am very proud to be joining the most prestigious series after Formula One, and it will be a special moment to compete in the races in Malaysia and Bahrain. Fisichella Motor Sport is a great name in racing and I had a good feeling with the team when I tested at Jerez. It's going to be important for me to learn about the car and the series and I am in the best place to do that in such a good team which has a good record of success and car reliability. I know the season will be tough, because GP2 attracts the best drivers in the world, but I will be focused on driving many kilometres, learning the circuits quickly and working closely with the engineers."

Paolo Coloni, Team Principal: "I am pleased that Michael is joining to team for GP2 Asia. Michael tested for us in Jerez and did a very good job. That, combined with the performance he showed in his last test in the World Series by Renault, gave us very good motivation to work with us. He was consistently in the top two fastest in the World Series test and I think he has a very promising future."

Enrico Zanarini, Team Principal: "Michael's quick times at the last WSR tests show that he has great potential and I am pleased that he has chosen FMSI to launch himself into GP2. We will give him a very competitive car and a very quick teammate against whom he will be able to challenge himself."

Giancarlo Fisichella: "Adrian Valles and Michael Herck are a very good combination. I will miss the first two GP2 Asia races but I will be on the pit wall in Malaysia and Bahrain. The Asian series is going to be a very good championship with plenty of action!"