“The track is the home of the French Grand Prix, and it’s always good to run at a major venue like that. The surface is very smooth, and that will also mean we’ll need to achieve a different set-up to the one we used at Valencia. We also need to be able to travel through the fast chicanes, called Estoril and Imola, quickly without upsetting the balance of the car, and that will demand a very stable configuration,” he added.

Mike Newton is also keen to get back into the Saleen on a track he knows well. "I am really looking forward to competing at a circuit familiar to me. I believe we have a good chance of finishing higher up in the points, as long as we don’t incur the kind of bad luck we suffered at Valencia". Chris Goodwin is also positive about the French race “Having driven the circuit on a number of occasions I think it will suit the Saleen. I think the team has made good progress over the recent weeks, and that should allow Miguel and I to be more competitive than we were in the first two events".

Credit for much of that improvement can be put down to the hard work already completed by Phil Barker and the rest of the RML team, aided and abetted by the recent appointment of ex-Formula 1 designers Gary Anderson and Peter Elleray. “We should go better this weekend,” insisted Erdos. “Hopefully we can continue to challenge the BMS Ferraris and perhaps get closer to the Pirelli-shod Saleens. Konrad’s set up is obviously very different to ours, but I’m sure we can work with the Dunlop tyres and take them on.”