Taiwanese professional race car driver Kevin Chen has signed a contract with Italian Proteam Motorsport to race in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) this year, Chen's agent confirmed Monday. Chen will be the first Taiwanese to compete in the WTCC -- formerly the European Touring Car Championship -- when he races for Proteam in the season's closing stages in Japan and Macau in October, said Chen's agent Hsieh Pei-shan. Chen, who started his career in the United States racing in the SCCA National Championships before moving on to Asia in the Formula V6 Asia and GP2 Asia series, will drive Proteam's third BMW 320si for the first time at Okayama on Oct. 31. The 31-year-old from Taipei completed his first laps in a WTCC car in Italy last month, test-driving a Proteam Motorsport BMW 320si. Proteam said in late August that the Okayama and Macau drives will be part of an evaluation for a possible full time ride in the 2011 WTCC, according to Hsieh. Chen began his motorsport career by claiming two U.S. titles in the SCCA Regional Touring Championship, back in 2003 and 2004. After finishing runner-up in the 2005 Show Room Stock Car Series he moved to single seaters, competing in the Formula V6 Asia (2007/08) , GP Asia (2008/09) and British Formula 3 (2009). 