Dino Zamparelli to race in GP3 this season with Marussia Manor

Dino Zamparelli will race in the GP3 Series this season for the Marussia Manor Racing team.

The 20-year-old from Bristol raced in the FIA Formula Two Championship in 2012, finishing eighth overall with two podium finishes.

Zamparelli made the announcement via his Twitter account, with the Marussia F1 team, which backs Manor’s squad, adding: “With an eye to our GP3 ambitions, we’ve signed Dino Zamparelli and welcome the Anglo-Italian.”

Before that he was the Formula Renault BARC Champion in 2011 and won the Ginetta Junior title back in 2008. Zamparelli is the first driver to be confirmed for the Marussia Manor team for the 2013 season, with pre-season testing starting at Estoril on Wednesday. Their leading 2012 driver Tio Ellinas tested with Marussia Manor at the end of last year along with Nicolas Costa, Patryk Szczerbinski and Adderley Fong.

Last year Marussia’s driver lineup included Tio Ellinas, Fabiano Machado and Dmitry Suranovich. The GP3 Series is a single seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 follows the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the GP2 series as a support race for the two.