Andrew Howard will hope to strengthen his 2016 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) title hopes at France’s Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend.

The Wycombe Wanderers chairman will be joined behind the wheel of his Beechdean Aston Martin by teammates Darren Turner and Alex MacDowall.

The trio sit second in the championship, which is returning from a six week summer break, and Howard is eager to get back on the track.

He said: “It is great to be back to a circuit that we have tested and raced at before. It is full throttle now, let’s see what happens.”

The Paul Ricard track is based a stone’s throw from Marseille and is considered to be one of the most technical on the ELMS.

This includes a 1.8km straight on a circuit which provides competitors with multiple opportunities to overtake.

Veteran driver, Turner, is looking forward to taking on the circuit and believes the second half of the season will provide plenty of twists in the title race.

He said: “It’s very close in the championship now, as you would expect. I’m sure it will be an intense battle as we head into the second half of the season. Let’s hope we have the momentum to do it at Ricard.”

The Beechdean team has every reason to be confident of finishing the campaign as champions.

Their form throughout the first half of the season means they head to France just a point behind current leaders AT Racing.

MacDowall is, therefore, targeting a strong showing throughout the meet to enhance their chances of claiming top spot at the season’s final race, which takes place in Portugal on October 23.

He said: “I am really looking forward to racing at Paul Ricard for the first time. We’re still in the championship hunt and we want to win it so we need another solid result to do this.”

After completing the race weekend at Paul Ricard, the ELMS will travel to Spa-Francorchamps next month.