Duval eager for Team France return

Duval, who finished runner-up in Japanese Formula Nippon this summer, elevated the French to the top of the table with a victory and a third place at the season opener at Zandvoort last month.

He had to sit out the races at Chengdu two weeks ago because the event clashed with the final round of the Japanese Super GT season at Fuji, which he was already committed to.

The team slipped to third after China, where Nicolas Prost scored just a single point, but Duval is keen to regain the lead for France in Malaysia where he finished second on both races last year.

"I'm chomping at the bit to get back into the car," he said. "I've only driven it in wet conditions at Zandvoort so this will be the first time for me driving in dry conditions.

"I just hope that we will be as quick at Sepang as at Zandvoort and the aim is to lead the series again at the end of the Malaysian weekend."

Team France seat holder Olivier Panis added: "We've always done well here in Malaysia, and the level of competitiveness we've shown since the first race of the 2008/09 championship leads us to believe it'll be the same this year.

"Loic is very motivated at the thought of driving the car in dry conditions for the first time, let's hope the local climate doesn't have other ideas! Provided we don't make any mistakes, we should come away on Sunday with a bagful of points."