"It might take a few test days to get your head exactly around the driving style because it is so completely different to anything I've any done before," he admitted, "I drove a few saloon races at the start of my career, just small club-style meetings to get a few signatures on my licence really. After that, everything I've done has had downforce on, it's basically been F3 or higher since 2004.

"The driving style will be different, but the background I've got from working at Silverstone and Prodrive, where you end up driving so many different vehicles - front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, heavy cars, light cars - allows you to learn a small percentage of all the different driving styles and how to make each of those cars quick. I think that could possibly help me if I jump into touring cars."

As well as harbouring V8 ambitions, however, Winslow admitted that he was still optimistic about landing a race role with Team GBR in the A1 Grand Prix Series, having served as the official reserve for the best part of a season. Backing up Robbie Kerr and Oliver Jarvis in 2007-08, the former Asian F3 champion had hoped to be promoted to the race seat this season, only to be passed over in favour of Danny Watts' greater experience with the all-new Ferrari-based A1GP machine.

"I get on very well for the team and work very hard when I'm there," he pointed out, "I really enjoy being a part of Team GBR and so I'm very hopeful that something can happen sometime in the New Year. I'm obviously doing everything I can get into the race seat. Fingers crossed that loyalty will be rewarded one day."