KEY POINTS:
Young New Zealand racing driver Brendon Hartley's plans for next year are expected to be announced after he competes in the Macau Grand Prix on November 17-18.
The event is the world's most prestigious Formula 3 race and a significant stepping stone for single-seater stars of the future.
Hartley will drive a Dallara-Mercedes run by leading British team Carlin Motorsport.
Future options in 2008 include British or European Formula 3 races. Hartley also tested pre-season for Colin Giltrap's A1 World Cup team.
The Euro Cup champion - at 17, the youngest driver to win the event - was in Spain at the weekend, qualifying fastest and scoring two top-six finishes in the final round of the 14-race season.
Back-to-back podium finishes in Portugal the previous weekend had earned Hartley an unassailable championship lead going into the final round at Barcelona.
He ended the 2007 Euro Cup with fourth and fifth in the two 16-lap races.
During the season, Hartley scored four race wins, four pole positions, two second placings, two third placings and claimed fastest lap three times.
He finished in the top six at 11 of the 14 races, adding his name to a list of Euro Cup winners that includes Felipe Massa, Scott Speed, Kamui Kobayashi and Filipe Albuquerque.
The Hartley team - father Bryan and manager Peter Johnston - have been talking with main sponsor Red Bull about plans for next year.
Austrian Dr Helmut Marko runs the Red Bull Junior programme and was in Spain to see Hartley qualify fastest, 0.1 of a second better than his main rival, Englishman Jon Lancaster.
Dr Marko is a former grand prix driver and, in the early 1970s, raced alongside New Zealander Howden Ganley in the BRM team.
Several top British and European teams are now vying to sign Hartley.
They are impressed with the teenager's speed and consistency at such a young age.
His prize for winning the Euro Cup was a $400,000 grant that can be used to finance participation in World Series Formula Renault 3.5 next year.
Less than three years after winning the first Toyota Racing Series event at Timaru, Hartley is in a unique position, being the first New Zealand driver to have earned significant commercial sponsorship from the outset.
Red Bull's support, backed by an intensive development and training programme, mean Hartley is fast-tracking his career with a brand that supports four cars in Formula One.
The final Euro Cup points confirmed Hartley's season-long domination, winning the title with 134 points to Lancaster's 97 - a points advantage equivalent of more than two race wins.