SAO PAULO, Oct 18 - Frenchman Franck Montagny will be Toyota's official test and reserve driver next season, the Formula One team said on Wednesday.

Montagny, 28, made his race debut for Honda-backed Super Aguri as a stand-in for seven grands prix this season and was a test driver for champions Renault before that.

He has already made a test debut for Toyota, trying out the TF106B car at Silverstone last month.

"Franck is an experienced driver who knows the tracks and has a strong and successful record of developing Formula One cars," said Toyota team principal Tsutomu Tomita in a statement before Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

"His outing at Silverstone was a good opportunity to familiarise himself with the team at a time when discussions were almost complete. He worked well within the team and his performance confirmed we have made the right decision."

Toyota have Germany's Ralf Schumacher and Italian Jarno Trulli as race drivers next year. Their current third driver, Brazilian Ricardo Zonta, has joined Renault in the same role.