Legge announced as first RLLR driver for Formula E support series

Katherine Legge has been announced as the first driver to contest the first-ever season of the Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy, which will support the Formula E championship from 2018/2019. 

The Briton, who raced for Team Aguri in the opening two Formula E races of the series' inuagural season in 2014, has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - the first team to announce its participation in the eTrophy, which is expected to have a 20-car grid. 

"I have followed Formula E since its inception and have been very impressed with the growth in the electric car market and electric racing as a whole," Legge said.

"I have also wanted to drive for Bobby for the past 10 years or more so this for me is the realisation of a dream.

"Driving for a British brand like Jaguar on a global stage and 'racing to innovate' sounds like the best kind of challenge to me. I'm excited."

Legge currently competes in the ISMA SportsCar Championship in the GT Daytona class, following on from forrays into series such as DTM and IndyCar. 

RLLR confirmed it would reveal its second driver ahead of the first test for the new series, which is planned to take place in the UK in September. It is also set to unveil an American-themed livery at this weekend's 2017/18 season finale in New York. 

"I have known Katherine for a number of years and have always been impressed with her capabilities and how she handles herself," RLLR co-owner Bobby Rahal said.

"She did a great job in Formula Atlantic, IndyCar and now in sportscar racing and I think she will do very well for us in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series.

"We have spoken about working together for a number of years and I'm pleased to finally be able to put a programme together. This programme has been a year in the making and this weekend is a big milestone for us.

"I'm very impressed with the communication we have had with Jaguar and how things are progressing in England. We are all excited to get going and go racing."

Jaguar team director James Barclay added: "She is a passionate and experienced driver, and of course as Jaguar is a British brand, we're really excited that the first driver to be announced to join the grid is British and someone of Katherine's pedigree.

"We have always said that having Bobby on board brings great credibility to the series and cements its place in the motorsport calendar - I have no doubt that with Katherine as part of the team, they'll do great things in the championship."