Peter Kox admits he is pleased to have been given the chance to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours with the factory Aston Martin Racing team after losing the chance to take part at La Sarthe in his anticipated GT1 role.

Kox had been due to lead the IPB Spartak Racing outfit into the French classic, but the economic downturn and the loss of a major sponsor forced the team to withdraw its Lamborghini Murcielago from the event.

However, a vacant seat then appeared at the Aston Martin Racing team and after a brief test at Monza, Kox will now line-up in one of the top LMP1 cars after being named alongside Harold Primat and Stuart Hall in the #009 for the big race.

“At first I was very disappointed for the IPB Spartak team, which had to withdraw because of the economic situation,” the Dutch driver said. “It's a shame because we had a car which had the means to compete with the official Corvettes.

“But that's life, and luckily I have been given another opportunity when Georges Howard-Chappell called me to come to Monza and trial the Lola-Aston Martin. I only drove 15 laps in the car so mostly I will be trying to get to grips with the new prototype and adjust to the limited visibility of the windscreen tomorrow afternoon during the test sessions.

“It's incredible to be given such a great opportunity at the last minute, I can hardly believe it.”