Dean Stoneman has confirmed plans to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with Redline Racing this season - two years after being diagnosed with cancer.

The former single-seater racer is expected to be a serious title contender as he seeks to build a long-term career as a sports and GT racer, having once had Formula One ambitions.

“Our aim this year is to hopefully win the Carrera Cup and then work towards the Porsche Supercup for 2014 and 2015,” said Stoneman. “The route I want to do now is into sports and GT cars. It costs a lot more money to do single-seaters and there’s a one-in-a-million chance of getting to Formula 1.”

The 22-year-old from Bishops Waltham was poised for single-seater glory when he was struck down by testicular cancer, which was diagnosed in January 2011.

He dominated the 2010 FIA Formula 2 Championship and tested for the Williams Grand Prix team before signing a contract to step into Formula Renault 3.5 for 2011.

“I signed a contract for Renault 3.5 on the Tuesday and I was in hospital on Thursday,” he said. “I was in hospital for about six months, on chemotherapy for 18 hours a day. I had four operations and now I’m on the mend. I’ve still got some issues, including trying to control testosterone levels. So instead of going forward with single-seaters we decided to try and make a career in what I like doing.”

Stoneman, who won powerboating’s P1 SuperStock UK Championship last year, is already adapting well to his 911 GT3 Cup race car. He will continue a pre-season testing programme ahead of the 20-race Carrera Cup GB season, which starts at Brands Hatch on March 30/31.