Mercedes F1 test driver Sam Bird has inked a deal that will see him join the Starworks team for the upcoming United SportsCar ♈Championship season.

The Briton, who finished as runner-up in the GP2 series in 2013 with the new Russian Time outfi♓t, has agreed a deal that will see him compete with the team in the three endure events on the calendar at Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

It w𝕴ill mark the first move into sportscars for the 26-year-old, who will become the second driv🦄er with links to the Mercedes team to compete with Starworks.

Brendo🦄n 𒆙Hartley, who was a test driver with Mercedes in 2012 having previously held a similar role with Red Bull and Toro Rosso, drove for the team during the 2013 season.

"We follow the GP2 series and Formula 1 young driver tests and I was stunned to learn Sam's available and was looking to North America for new opportunities," team boss Peter Baron told RACER. "We've been fairly successful in bri🐲nging open-wheel drivers into sports car racing and tapping into that talent.

"I'm looking forward to working with a driver like Sam who brings a lot of experience with him from some big teams and can contribute heavily to o♎ur programme. We'll have more to announce on which car he'll be driving and our full line-up soon."