“The Hondas and BMWs will be quick, especially Mat Jackson. Last year he was inconsistent, but this year I think he has the team and the car to be fast all the way through the season. At the beginning the BMWs will be our main rivals, but experience will ultimately make the difference.

“There are the SEATs too obviously, but they still have to discover the potential of their car. The BTCC uses different tyres to the WTCC [World Touring Car Championship] and we drive on different types of tracks, so the potential of the SEAT might be lesser or it might be greater here.

“For sure their car seems strong, but in the test at Rockingham Jason did one lap and – bang! It's certainly powerful, but the turbo and high-pressure injection make reliability weaker too. We will without doubt see the yellow car in front sometimes, but only sometimes.”

As to his future, the man from Sassuolo near Modena – who has clinched a staggering eight tin-top crowns over the course of his long and glittering career – said he was happy to remain in the UK for the time being, even if he does not foresee a permanent move to a country whose climate he has described in the past in distinctly colourful terms. He also underlined that his 2007 success had been one of the sweetest he had ever achieved.

“It was special because it was a really hard fight,” Giovanardi mused. “There was a lot of pressure on both me and the team, and it took a big effort to win. When you win because your package is so much stronger than the others it doesn't give you the same satisfaction.

“I have no reason to move to England, however, because we can't do any testing during the season. I'm not a young driver anymore so it's quite difficult to change your life. If I had come over here ten years ago maybe it would have been different, but my life is in Italy now.

“I'm enjoying driving in the BTCC, though. The level is getting higher all the time and more and more people are following it. I don't see any other touring car championship that interests me at the moment.

“The WTCC is a good championship, but if you watch it there are only a few cars fighting for wins. Being run by the FIA means there are too many politics involved, and I like the fighting to be done on the circuit and for racing to be racing. The sport should be for us and for the fans.”

TO READ GIOVANARDI'S ENTERTAINING TAKE ON HIS ROAD DRIVING HABITS, CLICK HERE