Sarrazin signed to partner Chadwick at Veloce XE team

The French ace, 45, won two Le Mans Series titles in 2007 and 2010 and has scored six podium finishes in the Le Mans 24 Hours - most recently for Toyota in 2016. 

Sarrazin should be well suited to the electric SUV off-road racing series, having raced in Formula E over five seasons in addition to making myriad World Rally Championship appearances. 

He claimed second place in the 2016 Long Beach E-Prix for the Venturi FE squad before switching to Techeetah for the latter half of the 2016-17 term. 

There he added a further two podiums while returning to the WRC fold, having contested three part-seasons aboard the Subaru Impreza during the early 2000s, headlined by a brace of fourth place finishes on the 2004 Spanish and 2005 French rallies.  

Sarrazin, who tested the spec ODYSSEY 21 car at Motorland Aragon last month, said: “I am delighted to have agreed terms with Veloce Racing to contest the first season of Extreme E.  

“This is a hugely appealing new series that has already attracted a lot of international attention.

“As a driver, the concept is tremendously exciting and motivating - both on a competitive and personal level - and the challenge will be like no other.” 

“I’ve driven a lot of different types of car during my career, but the ODYSSEY 21 really is something special and it’s going to generate some incredible action.  

“When we went testing together, it did not take me long to ‘click’ with the Veloce Racing guys - like me, they arrive in Extreme E with a lot of experience from different disciplines in the sport, and that can only be to our advantage over the forthcoming campaign.” 

With Sarrazin completing the Veloce Racing line-up, only reigning FE teams’ champion Techeetah has yet to reveal its XE driver pairing ahead of the delayed first round in Saudi Arabia across 3-4 April.  

Veloce Racing also announced that South African national cross-country champion Lance Woolridge has been signed as the team’s reserve and development driver. 

Team manager Ian Davies added: “Both [Sarrazin and Woolridge] tested with us at Motorland Aragon last month, and to be honest, they gave us a real headache in terms of who to choose.  

“Since we didn’t want to lose either, in the end, we decided to sign them both. 

“Both Stephane and Lance worked extremely well with Jamie and Veloce’s engineering team at the test, and their different skillsets and experience complemented each other perfectly. 

“Both guys were quick out-of-the-box in Spain, and we believe both will bring a great deal to Veloce Racing as we aim to hit the ground running in Saudi Arabia.  

“We are confident that with Jamie and Stephane driving and Lance working hard behind-the-scenes, we have a very strong team indeed.”