Thomas Erdos and the RML squad travel to Magny-Cours in France this weekend for Round Three of the 2004 FIA GT Championship. They need to put behind them the various frustrations of the last couple of GT races, including the first round of the series at Monza, where both the team’s Saleens suffered from a series of punctures.

Then, two weeks ago at Valencia, Tommy and his co-driver Mike Newton in the #7 Saleen were incorrectly issued with a drive-through penalty that should have been applied to team-mates Miguel Ramos and Chris Goodwin in the #8. No amount of apology from the race officials could make good an error that almost certainly cost the duo a podium finish.

Last weekend, of course, Nathan Kinch joined Tommy and Mike for the official Le Mans 24 Hours test session. That had an encouraging undercurrent, with competitive times set early in the day when track conditions were far from ideal, but ended prematurely when the engine in the MG Lola they were sharing suffered a rare crankshaft failure.

All four of the team’s FIA GT drivers; Thomas Erdos, Mike Newton, Miguel Ramos and Chris Goodwin, have experience at Magny-Cours, suggesting that they may well be in a stronger position as they head into round three. “Mike and I were at Magny-Cours last year, of course, so we know the circuit well, including the new part,” said Erdos, referring to the modifications that were made recently.