Russian Bears Motorsport has announced that it will run a third LADA 110 for the remainder of the 2008 World Touring Car Championship season.

The team joined the grid in Valencia with Jaap van Lagen and Viktor Shapovalov at the wheel, with the pair surprising many with the performance of the car – which has proved to be more competitive than most people ever expected.

van Lagen and Shapovalov will now be joined by another Russian for the final four rounds of the campaign at Imola, Monza, Okayama and Macau with Kirill Ladygin having been named as the driver for a third car.

The 30-year-old has won eleven national karting titles and has won the LADA Cup on two occasions in 2004 and 2006. Ladygin has also taken on the role of official tester for LADA Motorsport and has been busy working on the development on the new Priora, which is set to replace the 110 in the WTCC next season.