After a year out of competition, former British F3 racewinner Jonathan Kennard will return to action as driver of the AS Roma car in season two of the Superleague Formula series.

The Briton, who turns 24 on Friday, will join the Italian team for the opening round of this year's series at Magny-Cours this weekend, running alongside the PSV and AC Milan entries being raced by Dominick Muermans and reigning GP2 champion Giorgio Pantano.

Having starred in both T-Cars and Formula Palmer Audi, Kennard tackled the Scholarship Class of the UK's premier single-seater championship in 2005, taking one win and ten podiums to finish third in the standings. For the next two years, he graduated to the main Championship Class, finishing sixth outright in 2007 with two pole positions, one race win and seven podiums, before being selected to carry out aerodynamic testing duties for the Williams F1 team in 2008 and 2009.

In addition to that role, he has already contested the opening round of this year's Formula Master series, finishing fifth on the streets of Pau, but is looking forward to racing in Superleague.

“It's a great birthday present,” he enthused, “Having driven both F1 and GP2 single-seaters, I love powerful cars and I can't wait to have a go in the 750bhp Superleague racer.

“I'm looking forward to racing alongside Pantano too. He's raced in F1 and is a multiple race winner in GP2. He's obviously got a lot more experience than me at this level, but I'm sure I can learn a lot from him. I can't wait to get to France and see how I compare.”

Kennard will line up against 17 rivals in the opening round of this year's series, with qualifying taking place on Saturday ahead of two races - plus the new Super Final - on Sunday.