The Cambridgeshire driver, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Christmas Day, has gained a huge amount of experience racing for the works Chevrolet team over the last three years. Having made his FIA World Touring Car Championship debut with Chevrolet in 2005, he scored his first race victory in 2006 (at Brno in the Czech Republic) and last year won again (at Anderstorp in Sweden) and scored three more podium finishes - 2nd in Porto (Portugal) and 3rd at Brands Hatch (UK) and Macau (China).

Now entering his fourth consecutive racing season with the team, Rob has contributed enormously to the development of the Chevrolet Lacetti, which has become one of the most competitive cars in World Touring Cars. With team-mates Alain Menu and Nicola Larini also renewing their contracts, the combination of squad stability, technical improvements and experience could see Chevrolet and Rob become World Champions in 2008.

The WTCC is one of the most competitive arenas in motorsport. No less than 52 drivers raced in the WTCC last year, and since the Super 2000 cars were introduced, 23 drivers from 10 different countries have won races. This year's WTCC is even bigger, with 24 races taking place in 12 countries – starting in Brazil in March and ending in China in November.

"I'm delighted to be back racing with Chevrolet again this year," said Rob. "It will be my fourth season with them and my fifth straight season with the RML team which builds and runs the cars, so I'm very happy. The Lacetti is a fantastic race car and in my opinion the Chevrolet team is the best in the WTCC paddock. We're doing a lot of development work with the car at the moment, and if we start this season the same way as we finished last year, I think we'll be a very strong contender for the World title.

"This year's calendar is very good, and whilst I'm looking forward to returning to the tracks I know well, I'm really excited about going to Japan for the first time. A good friend of mine, Oliver Jarvis, races in Formula 3 out there, and I've already been talking to him about the Okayama circuit and picking up some tips. It's always good to have new challenges, and Chevrolet has always won races on tracks which are new to the WTCC, so I hope that tradition continues when we get to Japan."

2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship

March 1-2	Curitiba (Brazil)
April 5-6	Puebla (Mexico)
May 17-18	Valencia (Spain)
May 31-June 1	Pau (France)
June 14-15	Brno (Czech Republic)
July 12-13	Estoril (Portugal)
July 26-27	Brands Hatch (UK)
August 30-31	Oschersleben (Germany)
September 20-21	Anderstorp (Sweden)
October 4-5	Monza (Italy)
October 25-26	Okayama (Japan)
November 15-16	Macau (China)

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