Arden runs Parente, Lapierre targets Magny-Cours.

Injured GP2 Series frontrunner Nicolas Lapierre continues to work towards a racing return at Magny-Cours next month, despite having to watch as reigning British F3 champion Alvaro Parente tested his car at Paul Ricard this week.

The Portuguese driver was drafted in to partner Michael Ammermuller for the traditional mid-season test at Paul Ricard, as the team decided to use a driver it knew rather than pressing an unknown into action at what could prove to be a crucial two-day session.

"We ran Alvaro in the winter tests and he was quite impressive," Arden's Mick Cook explained, "To us, he seemed the obvious choice for this test. We had thought about running him at Silverstone [where Toro Rosso F1 driver Neel Jani raced] but, for one reason or another, that didn't happen."

The mid-season test proved to be a turning point for eventual champion ART Grand Prix last year, and Arden was hoping that Parente and Ammermuller could find something to edge the team back to the front of the field over the second half of the 2006 campaign.

"Alvaro's feedback when we tested him [in the winter] was reasonable, and we were impressed with his speed," Cook continued, "But he was straight out of F3 back then and he's got more experience under his belt with these type of cars now. I think that will help him to adapt quickly and get up to pace. He's been fast here before and, as you'd expect, we'll be watching him closely with a view to the future as well."

Lapierre, meanwhile, was present in the south of France to keep an eye on his replacement's progress as he continued to recover from the compressed vertebrae sustained in Monaco. The Frenchman missed the Silverstone weekend a fortnight ago, but remains hopeful of a return for his home race at Magny-Cours.

"Hopefully, he'll be okay for Magny-Cours," Cook admitted, "It's a big race for us and, of course, it's a big race for him as he grew up there.

"It's good to have him back amongst the team this week. He'll be listening in, seeing what's going on, just so he's aware of what we're doing. It's always difficult to have continuity in these kind of circumstances, so it'll be great to have his input too."