Oliver Jarvis heads into his second DTM campaign optimistic that he can be the best of those drivers saddled with older technology, having been retained by Audi Sport Team Phoenix.

The Briton, who finished 13th overall in his debut season, was named among a nine-strong Audi squad for 2009, and will again partner former GP2 racewinner Alex Premat at the Phoenix satellite operation. With a year of learning under his belt, however, Jarvis feels that he is better equipped to mount a challenge on those who finished ahead of him last season, and win the battle of the '08 cars.

“I start the season very confident that, with a great team behind me, I can achieve my ultimate goal of not only becoming the top driver in a year-old car, but also to fight for podium finishes wherever possible throughout the year," he insisted, "Whereas 2008 was a very steep learning curve for myself, with everything being new, I can head into this season with a much better insight into how the DTM works. I'm delighted to again be part of Audi Sport, and especially to be re-uniting with Team Phoenix, who did such a great job for me last year."

Jarvis, who appears unlikely to return to the A1GP series as he concentrates on his DTM role, admits that he has areas of his personal performance that he'd like to work on in 2009, but is confident that he will be on the pace as soon as possible.

“I had some very good qualifying performances last season and aim to use my experience to turn these into more consistent points finishes this season," he noted, "I'm hoping to adapt quickly to the new car, in order to be competitive from the opening race. To be in a position to score points in the early races is very important.”

Jarvis will get his first outing in the 2008-spec Phoenix Audi at next month's Dijon group test, with the first round, at Hockenheim, not scheduled until the middle of May.