Lyons to test with Coloni

The Ulsterman will join Formula 3 star Gianmaria Bruni at Barcelona for the two-day test, which starts tomorrow (Thursday). But the Spanish run does not neccessarily mean that Lyons has set his heart on returning to race in Europe.

"I always like to keep my options open," he said. "My focus is to get to Formula 1 and I will do anything that gives me experience to get there. It is hard to know what to do these days - you can get to F1 doing Formula Renault."

Lyons had a brief test with Coloni two years ago and the outfit is keen to try him again. Team boss Paolo Coloni said: "We tested Richard after he had come out of Formula Palmer Audi and we were extremely impressed by him. He has gained extremely good experience in Japan, so if you consider the talent he already he had, he should now be a very good package."

Lyons has not ruled out racing in Formula Nippon again next year, but he will only go back if he can be more competitive. He has struggled to make a breakthrough in his rookie season. "It was very difficult with the G-Force chassis because it was nowhere near the Reynard," he said. "I wouldn't go back there in the same scenario. I've learnt the circuits and now I am ready to win."

Coloni is making a big push to assess as many top drivers as it can for next year. Another Briton, German Formula 3 frontrunner Gary Paffett, is also due to drive for the Italian team in the official F3000 tests in November.